Being a food blogger does have some perks, one of them is trying out new products I might not otherwise get my hands on. After noticing that we had bought some habañeros and other spicy peppers at the Penn Quarter Farmer’s Market, Plato’s Olive Oil contacted us to see if we would be interested in trying out one of their infused olive oils.
Of course Sam, the spice lover of this household, wanted to give this a try. He’s even been thinking about making some of his own! So we waited patiently for our olive oil to arrive.
Plato’s Olive Oil is a family owed company based in California. The owner was looking for an olive oil infused with spicy flavors, and wasn’t able to find any- so he began experimenting! The original, and the product which was sent us, is their habañero-infused olive oil, which comes from the Napa region in California.
To give it a try, I decided to make some lentil curry- and thought that the extra spice from Plato’s olive oil would be a perfect kick. And I was not disappointed, the olive oil gave this dish the extra spice it needed!
But there is no way around it, and many food bloggers and photographers can agree, brown food is so difficult to photograph! But sometimes- in this case a spicy veggie curry- it’s so delicious, I wish it’d look a bit nicer to show off it’s tastiness.
Veggie Lentil Curry
Adapted from: SweetSugarBean
2 tbsp Plato’s Habanero-Infused olive oil (or regular olive oil)
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 small carrots, chopped
1 inch ginger, shredded
2 jalapeño, chopped (optional)
3 tbsp spicy curry paste
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
2 14.5 oz light coconut milk
2 cups uncooked lentils
2 cups cooked chickpeas
1 head of cauliflower
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Heat up the olive oil in a large pot. Once heated, add the onions and allow them to cook for about 5 minutes, or until they become translucent. Then add in the garlic, carrots, ginger and jalapeños. Cook for an additional 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Next add in the curry paste, cayenne pepper, cumin and coriander. Allow to cook for about a minute, then add in the tomatoes, coconut milk and lentils. Stir well and bring to a boil. Then lower to a simmer, and cook until the beans are done (about 40 minutes).
Once the lentils are cooked, add in the chickpeas, cauliflower and peas. Cook on low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Finally, stir in the cilantro and serve.
Disclosure: I received a bottle of Plato’s Habanero-Infused Olive Oil to try, but did not receive additional compensation for this post, or was under any obligation to blog about it.
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