Let's brighten up our winter cooking with these lovely tropical flavours.
Adding a bottle of our breezy tropical Chilli Coconut and Lemon Myrtle sauce to a chicken casserole will really give your tastebuds a taste of adventure!
We added sweet potato and cubes of fresh pineapple and red capsicum to ours in keeping with the tropical vibe. We have also add some Coconut Chilli Lemon Myrtle Sprinkles to some basmati rice for an extra zing! Grilling the fresh pineapple really makes a difference to this dish too.
To serve 4
Preheat oven to 185C
3 chicken breasts (approx 200g each) cut into bite sized pieces
seasoned plain flour to coat chicken (we season with Lemon Myrtle but you could use another dried herb like Lemon Thyme)
Olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 medium sized onion, finely diced
2 rashers bacon, finely diced (optional)
1 medium/large sweet potato, peeled and diced
2 red capsicum, trimmed and finely diced
2-3 sticks celery finely sliced
handful green beans, top and tailed and sliced
3 medium thick slices fresh pineapple, rind removed.
2 cups jasmine rice
1 can (approx 400ml) coconut milk
11/2 cups water
1 large tablespoon Lemon Myrtle Coconut Chilli Sprinkles and extra Sprinkles to serve (optional)
Partly pre-cook the sweet potato to just tender, by steaming or microwaving. Don't boil as we want to keep a good shape. Once cooked and drained (if necessary), set aside.
Using an oven-proof pot or large saucepan. heat the oil to hot and cook the garlic, onion and bacon until the onion becomes translucent. Quickly add the diced capsicum and sook for a further 32 minutes. Remove from the pot, drain excess liquid and put aside in a large bowl.
Dredge the chicken pieces lightly in the four. Using the same pot add a little more oil and seal the chicken pieces. Do this in about three batches. The meat should be slightly golden on each side. Remove and place in the bowl with the onion mix.
Using a grill pan (or frying pan if you don't have this) brush the pineapple lightly with olive oil and grill each side in the pan until tender - not fully cooked through. Let cool and cut into bite sized pieces and place into the bowl.
Add the partly cooked sweet potato and the uncooked celery and sliced beans to the bowl.
Add one bottle of Chilli Coconut and Lemon Myrtle Sauce. Season with ground pepper and we add a goodly pinch of our Wild Herb salt. Using a large spoon, mix all the ingredients together and to distribute the sauce through the mix.
Place the mix back into the heat proof dish and place on the middle shelf of the oven, with the lid on and cook for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, stir and if needed, add a dash of water. Cook for a further 10 minutes with the lid off.
When ready, using a wooden spoon stir the dish ensuring the brownish bits around the edges are stirred in.
While the casserole is cooking, prepare the Coconut Jasmine Rice
Rinse the jasmine rice several times until the water runs clear. Drain any excess water and add the coconut milk, water and the Lemon Myrtle Coconut Chilli Sprinkles
On high heat, allow the mixture to boil. Once it starts to boil, turn the heat down to low and cook covered for 20 minutes.
Uncover and continue to cook for 5 minutes. Fluff and serve. Garnish with some chopped coriander if you have it.
Alternately cook in your microwave for approx 7 minutes, then stir and microwave for a further 5 minutes or so.