Coconut Crusted Chicken with Curried Apple Rice Pilaf

In another edition of "OMGIHAVENOIDEAWHATTOMAKEFORDINNER," I put together a gourmet feast with junk I found in my kitchen.

A couple of weeks ago, I got a coconut in my co-op basket. A COCONUT.

So I went online, figured out how to prep it, let the boys whack the hell out of it, shredded it and put it in the fridge, ostensibly never to be seen again.

Flash forward to last night, I'm gazing into my fridge trying to figure out if there is a combo of eggs, bacon and cheese that I haven't tried yet when I see the coconut and a lighbulb goes off. I'm a big curry fan, so I pulled out a Pilaf recipe (from my bestie, epicurious.com) I've been serving with my Yam Cakes and the rest is in my belly. Well, probably not anymore.

Coconut Crusted Chicken

(adapted from MY BRAAAAINS)

ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 eggs beaten

1 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut

1 cup almond meal

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

Preparation:

Combine coconut, almond meal, cinnamon and ginger in a wide shallow bowl or plate. Dredge chicken breasts in egg (will egg sub work? idk.) and then coat with coconut mixture, patting to cover. Cook however you prefer (bake or pan-fry if you like) but I'm lazy, so I cooked it on the Forman Grill for about 10-12 minutes. I tend to overcook chicken because I am terrified of raw/undercooked chicken.

This is also great with a little mango chutney.

Curried Apple Rice Pilaf

(adapted from epicurious.com)

ingredients:

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 garlic clove, minced

1 cup basmati or jasmine rice

1 apple, peeled, cored, chopped

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

1 1/4 teaspoons curry powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups water

preparation

Heat oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until golden, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and stir 30 seconds. Stir in rice, apple, cinnamon, ginger, curry powder and salt. Add 2 cups water and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook until rice is tender and water is absorbed, about 18 minutes. Remove from heat.

Naan

Oh, naan. I thought I'd lost you forever. Then I found this great recipe. I've yet to try adding garlic butter, but I'll let you know when I do. This goes great with the Coconut Curry or just for dippin' with some hummus. You can also freeze it and just pop it in the toaster oven for a bready snack. Great for flatbread sandwiches.

Ingredients

2/3 cup tepid whole milk

2 cups rice flour

8 Tablespoons tapioca flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoons gluten free baking powder

2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

2/3 cup plain yogurt

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoons xanthan gum

ghee (optional) or olive oil (optional)

Directions

1. In a bowl mix tepid milk with 1 teaspoon sugar and the yeast, then sit bowl in warm place for 4-5 minutes.

2. Sift the flours, Xanthan gum, salt, baking powder into a bowl or food mixer. Add remaining sugar, oil, yogurt, egg and mix until smooth.

3. Preheat oven to the highest setting. Make dough into 6 equal sized balls. Roll out balls into a tear shape that is ¼ inch thick (use rice flour if necessary to prevent sticking). I just press them out with my palm into amorphous shapes. What do I care?

4. Preheat a heavy baking tray in oven. Remove tray and put the naan on it. Return to the oven for 3 minutes or until the naan puffs up and turns light brown. Place tray under the broiler 30 seconds to 1 minute for extra browning.

5. Brush with ghee or olive oil before serving.