I love curries of just about any type.  Curry is also surprisingly versatile, especially when paired with chicken, which naturally lends itself to being flavored in just about any way imaginable!

Last week, I was feeling a bit uninspired, and happened upon a recipe for basil chicken with coconut curry sauce, which sounded delicious!  I saved it, thinking I would come back to it at some point.  That some point happened to  be that very evening!

While at the grocery store, I was perusing the vegetable and produce section and realized that asparagus season is upon us!  I don’t know about you, but for me, asparagus is just SOOO much more enjoyable during the spring months when it’s in season.  So I put a few bunches of it in my cart, and aha!  inspiration hit!  Why not bump up the vegetable factor in that basil chicken recipe and add some seasonal vegetables such as asparagus!  I also knew I had some frozen peas in the freezer at home, so I ran with the idea.

What a great decision it was!  This smelled DIVINE while simmering away and was oh so delicious and flavorful! It was pretty hard to sit there and let it simmer as my mouth was watering from the smell!  I nearly burned my tongue because I didn’t wait long enough to dig in after serving it up.

It’s actually pretty mild as far as things in the curry department go, so if you’re new to curry, give this a shot!  Even if you’re a curry aficionado, I guarantee you will love this!   It’s a curry that just about anyone could get on board with!

Basil Chicken Coconut Curry

Servings: 4          Total active time:  ~ 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1. 1 lb chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes
2. 1 medium yellow onion, diced
3. 1 lb fresh asparagus, cut into 1 inch peices
4. 1 C frozen peas
5. 1 14oz can light coconut milk
6. 5 cloves garlic, minced
7. 1/8 – 1/4 t cayenne
8. 1 1/2 T dried basil
9. 1/2 t chili powder
10. 1 t ground ginger
11. 1 T curry powder
12. Salt and pepper to taste
13. 1 T cornstarch (gluten free)
14. 2 T olive oil
15. Fresh basil for serving
16. 3 C riced cauliflower** or cooked white rice

Instructions:

1. Combine chili powder, curry, cayenne, salt and pepper in a large bag or bowl.  Toss with chicken to coat and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
2. Heat 1 T olive oil over medium heat.  Cook onion, garlic, and dried basil for a few minutes until onion is soft and translucent.
3. Add chicken, asparagus, and peas and continue to saute until chicken is cooked through.  Add about 1/2 of coconut milk.  Thoroughly mix remaining coconut milk with cornstarch and add to pan.
4. Bring to a simmer and allow to thicken, about 10 minutes.
5. Serve over cooked, riced cauliflower or rice, top with finely chopped basil, and enjoy!

**For the cauliflower rice, I used a bag of frozen riced cauliflower.  I heated a small amount of olive oil in a small saute pan over medium-high heat, added the frozen cauliflower, and sauted until it was heated through.  I lighted salted it and added a few grounds of fresh black pepper as well.

Nutrition info (including 1/4 of the riced cauliflower):

396 total cals, 36 g protein, 30 g carb, 16 g fat

Note:  CeceOnTheGo participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.  The products linked are products actually used when preparing this recipe