Easy, One Pan Paleo Ground Beef Korma

This is an older recipe from Foraged Dish that has been a long-time reader favorite, and a favorite of mine. I’m republishing it with some updates, including a how-to video that really highlights how easy it is to make this dish! 

The Whole Foods Market in Boulder is extra large, partly because of an expansive prepared foods / hot bar / salad bar section. It’s buzzing with people at lunch time, and the parking lot is a mess! That’s where I first discovered ground beef korma — the hot bar, back in 2015. Whole Foods still has ground beef korma on it’s hot bar sometimes. Theirs is studded with peas but otherwise is super simple. That’s the beauty of this dish: simplicity! 

I love curries, which is probably why, over the last three years this recipe has become a regular in our rotation. It’s by no means a traditional dish, but it is a 20-minute wonder, something you can make on the busiest of evenings. I’ve even made it camping, while in Ten Sleep, WY. 

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In India, I was taught the saying: “No hurry, no worry, no chicken curry.” It’s meant as an ironic statement there — because everyone is moving at their own pace — but also, there’s a lot of curry. In this case, the curry comes together fast so you don’t have to hurry or worry! :)

When I followed the Paleo to a T, I served this over cauliflower rice, but these days I serve it with regular rice. Take your pick — both are delicious. I do almost always use 85% beef, as it’s way juicier. If you do use 95% beef, you might add a touch more coconut milk than what the recipe calls for! 

Easy, One Pan Paleo Ground Beef Korma

Published February 12, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 4   |    Active Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef (85/15 recommended)

1 teaspoon coconut oil

1/2 yellow onion, diced

1 teaspoon minced ginger

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium-sized jalapeño or serrano, minced (if you are sensitive to spicy foods, cut out and discard the seeds, then wash your hands and knife thoroughly)

1 sixteen-ounce can of crushed tomatoes

1/2 cup full fat canned coconut milk

1 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/8 teaspoon cayenne (optional--adds spice)

Dash of salt & pepper

To serve: rice or cauliflower rice

Garnish: Minced cilantro

Directions:

1. Heat coconut oil in a 10 or 12 inch skillet over medium heat until oil glistens.
2. Add onion, garlic, ginger and jalapeño to skillet and reduce heat to medium-low. Sauté until onions are translucent.
3. Add beef, and use a wooden spatula to break meat up into grounds. Cook until browned.
4. Add tomatoes, coconut milk, curry powder, turmeric, cayenne, and a dash each of salt & pepper. Stir, and bring to a simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Serve hot over rice or cauliflower rice, and garnish with cilantro.

Goat Cheese & Chive Scrambled Eggs

Adding goat cheese crumbles to scrambled eggs takes about two additional seconds but adds so much creamy cheesy flavor.

While I normally opt for eggs over easy these days, scrambled eggs were probably the first thing I ever learned to cook myself, and that alone made them one of my favorite foods as a kid. (I would scramble and egg in the microwave on slow weekends when my mom would ask, “Are you going to eat breakfast today?")

That version didn’t call for goat cheese (and I don’t think twenty-years-ago Caitlin would’ve appreciated the addition), but goat cheese adds pockets of creaminess that are out of this world.

Chives and goat cheese are a classic combo. Chives add a delicate onion-garlic flavor that is just zippy enough to give creamy goat cheese some extra life. Chives are one of the first plants in the garden that turns green come spring, making this breakfast a perfect early spring kind of dish.

I happened to also be cooking up a batch of creamy Icelandic Langoustine Soup, and had some extra chives to burn. I hate buying a bunch of herbs and only using half, leaving the other half to wither in the fridge… though, that ends up being the fate of many MANY bunches of herbs in our fridge. Sound familiar? Well, there are LOTS of ways to use up chives, including this recipe! Here are a few more to help you finish off that bunch: Crustless Quiche Lorraine (a reader fave!), Sweet Potato Chive Hash Brown Waffles, or Garlic and Herb Shrimp with Vine Ripe Tomatoes. You could basically build a whole week’s meal plan around a bunch of chives!

We served these eggs with a side of roasted sweet potatoes, but sautéd veggies would also be delish!

Watch now: Goat Cheese & Chive Scrambled Eggs

Goat Cheese & Chive Scrambled Eggs

Published January 17, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 2   |    Active Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients:

4 eggs

3 tablespoons goat cheese crumbles, plus more for topping

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper, plus more for topping to taste

1 tablespoon cooking oil, such as coconut or avocado

2 tablespoons minced chives, plus more for garnish 

Directions:

1. Crack all four eggs into a mixing bowl. Whisk together until they are frothy and solid yellow. Add goat cheese, salt, and pepper, and whisk to incorporate.
2. Heat oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Pour egg mixture into skillet. As eggs begin to set (after a few minutes) gently use a spatula to pull eggs across pan, making curds. Add in chives and continue to cook for a few more minutes, occasionally stirring, until all of the egg mixture is set.
3. Divide among serving plates and sprinkle with extra goat cheese and chives, along with extra black pepper to taste.

Parma Rosa Chicken

Some kids go through a mac 'n' cheese phase (it's something they can cook themselves), and some kids go through a cereal phase (doesn't require cooking at all). Me? Knorr Instant Parma Rosa Sauce was a childhood fave. It’s embarrassing but true.

To this day, I'm not sure what is even in those packs of instant pasta sauce. And frankly? I don't want to know. What I do know is that it's addicting. Back then I called it "pink sauce." 

Even though I ate many (many!) packets of pink sauce as a kid, it's not what I was thinking about when I started working on this recipe. Nope, I just thought I was making a creamy chicken parmesan. It wasn't until my first bite that my memory sprang into action: 

I know this flavor! This tastes like pink sauce! 

What was that called? Parma Rosa, a Google search told me.

And it does taste just like Parma Rosa -- a bigger, bolder, fresher, real parma rosa. A grown up pink sauce. And instead of a soft creamy pink color, it's a rich creamy orange-red, evidence of real tomatoes in there. 

You can eat this dish as-is (that's what I did, with a side salad), or you could serve it over pasta. It goes great with a glass of white wine, and the leftovers are just as good the next day. 

Between this recipe and this lasagna, I've been on quite the Italian kick lately! (Is pink sauce Italian? I don't think so, but it seems Italian). 

Parma Rosa Chicken

Published July 26, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 4   |    Active Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients:

4 small chicken breasts (or 2 large cut in half)

1-2 tablespoons coconut oil

1/2 yellow onion, finely diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

16 ounce can tomato sauce (Note: this is in the canned tomato aisle; it is puréed tomato -- not a pre-made pizza or pasta sauce, which will already have herbs, garlic, etc)

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced

1 tablespoon fresh basil, minced, plus more for garnish

3/4 cup half-and-half

1/2 cup grated parmesan

Directions:

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 10-inch oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil glistens, place the chicken in the skillet. Cook on each side for 5 minutes, until browned. Move to a plate and set aside.
2. If pan is dry, add additional tablespoon of coconut oil. Add onions and garlic, and sauté until transparent. Reduce heat to low. Pour in tomato sauce and stir.
3. Add thyme, rosemary, and basil to sauce, and then stir in the cream. Place chicken back in pan, immersing it in the sauce. Allow sauce to simmer lightly for 1-2 minutes, and then top each piece of chicken with parmesan. Place skillet in oven and turn to broil. Allow to cook for about 5 minutes — until cheese is bubbling. Remove from oven, top with additional basil for garnish, and serve hot.