A starter, main and dessert all made with delicious coconut oil

Coconut oil has been used by the peoples of the Pacific and SouthEast Asia for thousands of years.

Renowned to be good for your skin and hair, credited with helping everything from digestion to athlete’s foot, and used to make meals creamy and delicious, coconut is what’s known as a superfood.

With its long shelf-life and delicious aroma, many people are now using it as a healthier option than butter.

If you’d like to try cooking with coconut oil, here is a three-course meal to get you underway!

Potato chip crusted chicken

The great thing about these little bites as a starter is, you can have as many or as few as you like. When you have friends or family sitting around a table, simply make a bowl and pop them in the middle while the main course is finishing off.

Be quick though! One is never enough!

Ingredients

• 2 skinless chicken breasts
• 2 cups thin cut potato chips, crushed
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1-2 eggs
• Olivado Liquid Coconut Oil
• Sriracha Mayo
• Fresh coriander to garnish

Method

Start by preheating your oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

Cut the chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces, then mix together the crushed chips and garlic powder in a bowl.

Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl before dipping the chicken pieces into it, then coat well in the chip mixture. Lay on a lined baking tray, then drizzle with our delicious liquid coconut oil and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is crispy and cooked through.

Serve with sriracha mayo garnished with fresh coriander if desired.

Swahili Lobster

This recipe comes from our trip with Chef Brett McGregor to Kenya, where we filmed a few episodes of his excellent TV series Taste of a Traveller.

Ingredients

• 1 medium uncooked lobster, cut in half, cleaned.

Sauce

• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 1 red onion, finely diced
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 tsps ground cumin
• 2 tsps turmeric
• 2 cups coconut milk
• ½ cup fresh coriander
• ½ lime
• 2 cups tomato puree
• 2 tbsp Olivado extra virgin coconut oil
• 2 tbsp Olivado avocado oil
• salt

Rice

• 2 cups rice
• ½ cup coconut milk
• 1 tsp turmeric
• pinch salt

Method

For the rice, bring 3 cups of water to the boil. Once boiling, add the rice, coconut milk, turmeric and salt. Stir until boiling again. Turn down the heat and allow to simmer until cooked.

Add coconut oil to the hot frying pan. Add garlic and onions, stirring and cook until soft and translucent. Add the tomatoes and fry together mixing. Add cumin, turmeric and coconut milk. Allow cooking for a further 10minutes, stirring occasionally.

In another large pot bring 2 litres of water to the boil. Remove the lobster tail meat from the shells. Set aside. Add the 2 lobster shells into the boiling water and allow to boil for 10-15 minutes.

Cut the raw lobster meat into bite-size pieces. Season with ½ a lime and 2 generous pinches of salt.

Add cut 1.5 cups of coconut milk, coriander, lime juice and tomato puree into the sauce and stir to combine.

In a separate hot frying pan add 2 tbsp coconut oil and raw lobster meat. Stir for 2-3 minutes until they change colour. Add to the sauce, combine. Add the remaining coconut milk if to thick.

To serve, place cooked shells on a plate and fill with lobster meat, garnish with coriander and a slice of lime.

Coconut Cake

So after crispy chicken bites for starters and a deluxe lobster for main, it’s time for a sweet dessert to finish the meal off. This coconut cake is perfect as an after dinner dessert, or with a tea or coffee, and will keep for a few days.

Ingredients

For the Cake

• 6 eggs
• 1+1/2 cups coconut milk
• 7 Tbsp coconut
• 1cup sugar
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1 cup coconut oil
• 2 cups flour
• 4 tsp baking powder

For the Fluffy Coconut Icing

• 3 egg whites
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
• pinch salt
• 2 tsp vanilla or pandan extract or a dash of rum!
• 1/3 cup shredded coconut

Method

Start by preheating the oven to 180 degrees and grease two 20cm-22cm cake tins.

Stir the shredded coconut into the coconut milk, and set aside to let soak.

Separate egg whites from yolks. Place the egg whites in a small to medium mixing bowl. Set yolks in a large mixing bowl.

Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff (like whipped cream), then set aside.

To the yolks, add the sugar, salt, and oil. Beat to smooth consistency (1 minute).

Stir the baking powder into the flour, then add this to the yolk mixture. Also, add the coconut milk with the shredded coconut. Beat 1-2 minutes, or until well combined.

Fold the beaten egg whites into the mix, OR use your electric mixer on low speed and beat – just enough to combine (20 seconds). Pour mixture into prepared tins and bake 30-40 minutes, or until an inserted fork comes out clean. Cool before icing.

To Make the Fluffy Coconut Icing

Toast the coconut by placing it in a dry frying pan over medium-high heat. Stir continuously until most of the coconut is lightly browned. Immediately transfer to a bowl to cool.

Have ready two pots that can serve as a double-boiler (or use a stainless-steel bowl set over a pot). In the top pot, combine egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt. Stir well and set aside.

Add 3cm water to the lower pot and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to low (water should be steaming but not boiling). Now set the pot with the egg mixture tightly over it. Using an electric mixer, beat the mixture starting at low speed. Gradually increase speed over 5 minutes, ending at high speed. Add the flavouring (if using) when you switch to high speed. Beat until icing is stiff and easily holds its shape. Remove from heat.

To put the cake together: place the first layer on your serving plate and cover the top with a generous amount of icing. Sprinkle over some of the toasted coconut. Now add the second layer and again cover the top with icing. Finish by icing the sides of the cake. Sprinkle the toasted coconut all over the top, then gently press some onto the sides.

The best coconut oil on the market

Our coconut oil comes in three forms; our organic, extra-virgin coconut oil, our Organic

Naturally-Refined Coconut Oil and our pioneering liquid coconut oil.

Both are of the highest quality you can find on the market, due to our strict ingredient criteria, and our original cold-pressed extraction process, which is now used throughout the industry the world over.

If you’re interested in these products or would like to see what else we have to offer, please head over and take a look at the Olivado range, or contact us with any questions you may have.

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