Go nuts with coconuts!

About time to go nuts with coconuts!

ICED TEA

Bring six cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add eight jasmine tea bags. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the tea steep for about five minutes. Add ¼ cup of sugar and stir until it’s dissolved. Add ¼ cup of heavy cream, ¼ cup of coconut milk and a few slices of lime. Cover the saucepan and refrigerate until it’s cold.

MACAROONS

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two large baking tray with parchment paper and grease these with cooking spray. In a bowl, whisk together three large egg whites, ⅔ cup of sugar, ½ a teaspoon of vanilla and a pinch of salt, until the mixture is light and foamy. Fold in one cup of shredded coconut. Using a medium cookie scoop or tablespoon, scoop evenly sized mounds onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes and leave it to cool completely on the baking sheets.

BAKED SHRIMP

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Spray a baking tray with nonstick spray. Combine ½ a cup of flaked coconut, six tablespoons of panko and three tablespoons of flour in a bowl or baking dish. Beat two large egg whites in a medium-size bowl until the mix is slightly frothy. Sprinkle a pound of shrimp – peeled, deveined and butterflied – with salt and pepper. Add this to the egg whites and toss it to coat. Lift each shrimp from the egg whites, let the excess drip off and then coat them with the crumb mixture, pressing to adhere. Place the shrimp on the baking tray in a single layer. Lightly spray it with nonstick spray. Bake it for about eight to 10 minutes until the shrimp are golden on the outside and opaque in the centre. Serve it with a spicy dipping sauce.

SPICED PORRIDGE

Mix 175g of oats, 700ml of milk, 400ml of coconut milk, three tablespoons of sugar, a teaspoon of cinnamon, a grating of nutmeg and a pinch of salt in a saucepan. Set it over low heat and cook for about 20 minutes until it’s thick and creamy, stirring every now and then to prevent the porridge from sticking. Add a splash of milk if you like it thinner. Meanwhile, put three tablespoons of sugar and two tablespoons of water in a frying pan, and heat it to dissolve the sugar. Once it’s bubbling, add three oranges (peeled and sliced) and 250g of fresh or frozen berries.

Stir it, then turn up the heat and leave the concoction to bubble for a few minutes until most of the liquid evaporates, and the compote becomes thick and sticky. To serve the dish, spoon the porridge into bowls and top them with the compote, a swirl of coconut cream, some shaved coconut and an extra grating of nutmeg.

GRANITA

Pour about 415ml (14 oz.) of coconut milk into a shallow dish. In a small microwave safe dish, combine ¼ cup of sugar and ¼ cup of water. Microwave it until the water simmers and you can stir it sufficiently to dissolve the sugar. Let it cool slightly and then add to the coconut milk. Squeeze in the juice of half a lime. Place the dish in the freezer and scrape it every 30 minutes for two hours. Serve it with chocolate sauce.

MILK RICE

Boil some water. Wash 750g of fragrant Thai rice three times in cold water, draining each time to remove the starch and then put it into a large saucepan with a well fitting lid. Add 100ml of coconut milk, two shredded lime leaves and a teaspoon of salt, and stir. Pour enough boiling water to cover the rice. Close the pan and bring it to a boil, and cook for five minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the rice to steam with the lid on for 20 minutes. Run a fork through the rice to fluff it up and then scatter toasted coconut over it before serving.