Green Curry with Eggplant, Bacon and Cashews

Directions

1. Begin charring your poblano in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, turning the pepper occasionally so it is cooked on all sides. This will take about ten minutes. The skin of the poblano should look blistery and blackened in some places (you might want to open a window). Once done, let the poblano cool on your cutting board.
2. While the poblano cooks, place your cashews in a small bowl and cover with water. Let them soak for about fifteen minutes until softened a bit. Once softened, drain the cashews. Heat up one tablespoon of veggie oil in a cast iron skillet and stir fry your cashews for about five minutes or until they gain a bit of color. Set these aside.
3. Peel your eggplant and chop into one inch cubes. Place these in a colander set over a bowl. Cover evenly with salt and let sit for about fifteen minutes. This will suck some of the moisture and bitterness out of the eggplant. Then rinse off salt and set aside.
4. Place cardamom pods, cumin seeds and coriander seeds in a grinder. Pulse until smooth.
5. Chop poblano, serrano, jalapeno and onion roughly and place these in the bowl of a food processor. Add lime zest, garlic, brown sugar, curry powder and other ground spices in food processor. Blend until smooth. This is your curry paste.
6. Cook your bacon until crispy. I used a cast iron dutch oven, but a big pot would also work. Remove the bacon and let it cool on your cutting board.
7. Add your curry paste to the bacon grease and heat for a few minutes over medium-high heat until boiling lightly.
8. Add coconut milk about a third at a time, stirring. Let the mixture heat up in between adding the coconut milk. You should see some oil separating on top of the curry.
9. Continue stirring occasionally but reduce the heat to medium-low.
10. Toss in eggplant and cook until it is as soft as you like. I let my eggplant cook for about ten minutes which resulted in very soft pieces. If you want crispy eggplant chunks then stir fry them in a tablespoon or two of veggie oil, in a separate pan- then add them when your curry is finished.
11. Stir in fish oil.
12. Once eggplant is cooked stir in cashews, chopped up bacon pieces and lime juice. Remove from heat and let sit for five minutes. Serve with rice and garnish with left over bacon, cashews, cilantro or basil.