Coconut grilled chicken with mango salsa
05.14.2011 
Unless you, too, frequently drive along Viking Drive in the city in which I work, you might not believe me when I say that there is still a 10-foot pile of dirty snow that sits on the ground across the street from my place of employment. Every time I see that disgusting pile of slop, I let out a defeated sigh and instantly start dreaming of a tropical vacation. My husband and I started planning a tropical vacation a few months back, right after we learned that our oldest son would need to have his next surgery sooner than we expected. We weren't able to find childcare, though, so our tropical vacation never transpired. And I find myself sadly dwelling on that missed opportunity a lot these days.
So I have found that I have to do little things to trick myself into thinking that I'm sitting on a beach, enjoying my husband's company in WARMTH and with no large piles of snow in sight. When Kelapo contacted me and asked me to try their coconut oil, I knew it was meant to be. Coconuts = beaches = sunshine = no snow. Can I tell a quick story? Five years ago when my wonderful husband and I were on our honeymoon in Nassau, Bahamas, lying on the beach, absorbing the hot sunshine, we listened to a beach vendor repeat, "Fresh COCONUTS, tropical DRINKS, this is not a CEMETERY, let's get the pah-ty STAH-TED!" Over and over and over. But we didn't mind the repetition because, well, we were in the Bahamas. And he was talking about drinks and parties, and oohhhhh, I hate that stupid pile of snow. I often wonder if it will be July when it finally disappears.
The first thing that came to my mind when concocting a coconut-oil-related recipe was a light, fresh, fruity, delicious chicken meal that would make me think of a tropical vacation. First, though, I'd like to tell you how delicious coconut oil is. It can be such a great replacement for olive oil in a variety of dishes. I highly recommend it, and especially the Kelapo brand, which is now available in the Minneapolis area at Lunds and Byerly's. There are nutritious benefits to consuming coconut oil, as well. Check out Kelapo's website for details.
I wanted to create a sweet-spicy marinade for the chicken. My goal was to keep it simple because what I had in mind for the salsa was a little bit more complicated.
In a medium bowl, combine:
2 jalapeno peppers, sliced
4 green onions, sliced
Juice from 1 lime
2 tablespoons coconut oil
Salt and pepper
Place 4 chicken breast halves in a shallow dish and cover with the coconut oil-jalapeno mixture. Cover and let sit in the refrigerator overnight, turning the chicken occasionally.
Discard the large chunks from the dish and grill the chicken over medium heat until meat is no longer pink, about 15-18 minutes.
In the meantime, add the following ingredients to a medium bowl:
1 mango, peeled and diced
10 strawberries, stemmed and diced
1/3 cup dried cranberries
Juice from 1/2 a lime
1/2 red onion, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons coconut oil
Salt and pepper
By the way, I used these delicious Orange Flavored Cranberries from Trader Joe's, and I loved the citrus flavor they added. Yum. Yum. Yum. TJ's rocks.
Mix well.
Spoon the salsa over top the grilled chicken. Close your eyes and pretend you are near the ocean. Someone in the distance is talking about fresh tropical drinks.
I have to say, this is a fabulous little meal. I love the underlying coconut flavor that peeks through, mixed in with the assortment of other light flavors that danced around inside my mouth.
The next day for lunch, I shredded the chicken and put it atop a piece of flatbread. I topped it with the mango salsa and a little extra fresh cilantro.
It was a delightful lunch, once again bringing me back to an imaginary tropical location. And making me forget about that wretched pile of snow.
Reader Comments (32)
I hope all the snow has melted by now. It hovered around 90 here yesterday so maybe (?). This looks so fresh and wonderful. You're right, it screams of beaches and Bahamas. I almost think I like the wrap the best though. Wow.
I made this recipe tonight, and I cannot tell you have amazing it was. The flavors just meddled together so perfectly. I served it over coconut rice & with a salad of baby greens & it was one of the best meals I've had in a while. Thank you so much for such a great recipe.
where can you get this coconut oil other than online? i've wanted to make this recipe for so long! is there any other brands or is this the only one?
sd55: I know Kelapo made their coconut available in some stores, although I'm not sure which ones. Here is a link to their contact page, so feel free to write and ask them! http://www.kelapo.com/contact/
Megan
Just wondered how much "juice from a lime" because I'm using the lime juice and put in about two tablespoons. Hoping this isn't too overpowering for the taste. Thanks!
Hi TheMrsMac06!
2 tablespoons of lime juice sounds about perfect!
Megan
Love this!! We like it better the next day when the flavors are mixed and onion is not so strong. We also are not big cilantro fans and I use about a third of what it calls for. Our summertime family favorite!