Curry - Continued

The following evening I decided to put my curry powder to the real test. I picked up a little bit of lamb and a lot bit of pork (most of which I sliced, bagged and froze) and made a sauce. For the sauce I used:

• olive oil for browning
• Shallot
• butter
• flour
• chicken broth
• white wine vinegar
• lime juice
• leek
• oyster mushroom
• pork loin
• lamb
• salt to taste
• curry powder to taste

I started by browning half a shallot with just a little bit of olive oil; then I added the butter and flour as if to make a roux. With that started I added about a cup of chicken stock, the leeks (sliced thin), the mushrooms, lime, and vinegar. I don't really measure - I do it by feel - so if you've never made gravy or don't have any knowledge of sauces my encouragement is to start with a small quantity and see what you end up with (in most cases for a roux start with a tbls of both butter and flour, if the desired amount of sauce looks thin - add more flour, and don't be afraid to stick your finger in and taste for salt, spice, acidity/vinegar, etc). The amount of mushrooms, leeks, and meat can very based on what amount of bulk you want within the sauce and what you want to pay for in the case of the meat. Reduce the sauce almost to the desired consistency and add the meat - which should be in relatively small chunks - cover and let cook gently until the meat is done and the sauce is at the desired consistency. Serve with rice. The total amount of time I spent cooking this was encapsulated within the amount of time it took for the rice to cook. Here was what my result looked like -