Thai Red Curry with Vegetables

• 1 14-ounce can “lite” coconut milk, divided
• 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste, or to taste
• 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 cups water
• 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch lengths
• 2 fresh cayenne chiles or bird chiles, cut into long strips (optional)
• 2 whole lime leaves or 2 teaspoons lime zest
• 2 cups coarsely chopped dandelion greens or arugula
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, preferably Thai basil
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce 

Heat a wide heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add about 2 tablespoons coconut milk and curry paste, stirring to dissolve it. Cook, stirring, until aromatic, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add 1 cup of the coconut milk and cook for 1 minute, then add sweet potatoes. Stir to coat the pieces and cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes more.

Add water and bring to a boil. Cook until the sweet potatoes are almost cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining coconut milk, asparagus, chiles (if using) and lime leaves (or lime zest); cook for 1 minute. Stir in dandelion greens (or arugula), basil and fish sauce until well combined. Continue cooking until the asparagus is just tender, 1 to 2 minutes more. Remove lime leaves, if necessary, before serving.

Note: This flavorful Thai red curry recipe matches sweet potatoes with fresh dandelion greens and asparagus, though you can also substitute cauliflower florets, cubed Asian eggplant, squash or carrots. If using cauliflower or eggplant, add them earlier, when the potato is only partially cooked, as they will take longer to cook than asparagus. Classic Thai red curry is flavored with lime leaves and Thai basil. If you find them, use them, but even without them the vegetable curry will still be a knockout.

Serves 4; 180 calories.

VERDICT:  I left out the chiles and fish sauce, used lime zest, arugula, and regular basil, and this still turned out very nicely and is a nice, unfussy recipe.  Unrelated to the recipe, but contributing to my happiness with the meal: I also made the first--and probably last--perfect pot of rice of my life, using instructions from thekitchn.com.  Keep!