Curried Rice with Shrimp

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat until hot.

Add onion, carrots, and potatoes; cook, stirring occasionally, until they start to soften, 6 to 8 minutes. If vegetables begin to stick, add a little slosh of chicken broth to skillet.

Add garlic and curry powder; cook, stirring until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Add rice, broth, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.

Add shrimp; stir, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until shrimp are opaque and rice is tender, another 5 to 7 minutes.

Sprinkle with basil and serve. Note: Over and over in the recipes in this book I use the phrase "in a heavy skillet." Nonstick skillets have their place, but if I could have only one pan in my entire kitchen, I would choose a big cast-iron skillet. They're amazingly versatile and cook evenly. Once you get one seasoned (smear it with Crisco, then bake for an hour at 350F), they're almost as easy to clean as nonstick. And they last forever literally whereas every nonstick pan I have ever owned eventually left me wondering how much Teflon my kids were ingesting along with their fried rice.