Rachels Yoghurt, Food Blogger Idol Post.

Tropical Chicken

As a newbie to the lifestyle up here in Far-North-Queensland I’ve been inundated with market stalls full to the brim with tropical fruits and fresh lush produce from the inspiring farmers doing there bit up here in the north. The abundance continues to the coastline with coconuts found lying on the beach, and basil growing like hedging in the inner suburbs. Quality produce up here is on-tap and loaded with potential and possibilities.

Moving from the city-slicken mayhem in Sydney I cant help but love the change in scenery.  And moving out of home, who could have thought my life could become even more food-related? But here I am planning my weekend around the markets and what to have for dinner. Gosh so domesticated!

I guess what I’m trying to say is Far North Queensland has made me a better ‘Fooder’ (That is food-doer, as apposed to food groupie)

Afternoon Barbeques in the middle of winter are actually a thing up here in the tropics, so as a testament to my new found love of the north I give you my easy and healthy recipe  for Tropical Chicken! Using the beautiful product Mango & Madagascan Vanilla yoghurt, by Rachel’s Gourmet Low-fat yoghurts. The Mango in this yoghurt gives a fantastic flavour to the chicken and I've partnered it with some fresh herbs and other tropical ingredients for a unique flavour. The great thing about using yoghurt with meat is that is keeps it both moist and tender. 

Whats great about this recipe is that anyone with a pot of this 
golden-thick-dolloping-white-mango-speckled-mass of deliciousness, can have a taste of my Far North Queensland chicken- sorry for the over-do of adjectives can't stress its deliciousness enough.

So lets get cooking!

Tropical Chicken with Coconut Rice and Tomato Salsa.

Serves 4

250g Rachel's Mango & Madagascan Vanilla yoghurt

500g Organic Chicken tenderloins

2 Stems Coriander, including roots

2 Cloves Garlic.

1 Green Chili

½ Lemongrass stem

4 Kaffir Lime Leaves

2 Sprigs Mint

1 tbs olive oil

1 Lime

1 Tsp Fish Sauce

Salt & Pepper

Accompaniments:

250g Rice

100g English Spinach

1 cup Coconut shards/flakes

2 Red Tomatoes

½ Long red Chili

1tbs lemon juice

1 Sprig Thai Basil.

Method:

Roughly chop your coriander, lemongrass, mint, green chili, and garlic then place in a food processor to blitz. Remove the stem from the kaffir lime leaves, and add these as-well. Pulse for 30 seconds then add the olive oil, fish sauce, lime zest and juice. Process to form a aromatic green paste.

Then add Rachel’s Mango &Madagascan Vanilla yoghurt- making sure to get all the scrummy mango bits from the bottom, and pulse a couple of times to mix it through. 

In a bowl combine yoghurt paste with the tenderloins and set aside to marinate.

*This can be done the night before for extra flavour, but try and get  minimum 30 minutes marinating time.

Meanwhile, in a pan heat the coconut flakes tossing every 30 seconds until golden brown. Chop the spinach into thin slices and set aside in a large bowl with the toasted coconut flakes.

For the rice, in a pot bring 1 litre of water to the boil. Add the rice and cook until cooked through (8-12 minutes depending on grain chosen) add the rice to the pan of coconut, and toss through the spinach. Season and set aside for eating.

To make the salsa, dice the tomatoes into small cubes. Toss with a finely diced red chili, thin slices of Thai basil, a squirt of lemon, 1Tbs olive oil and seasoning.

We want to cook the chicken low and slow. You can either place the marinated pieces on a tray and cook at a low 150 degree oven for 10 minutes or even better set a BBQ to the lowest temp and shut the lid on the chicken for the same amount of time. When the chickens white through the middle its ready to go!

Stack the chicken on a chopping board and let everyone serve themselves. Far North Queensland is all about casual laid back eating with full flavoured foods. This recipe is a great way of using a delicious product in a different way. And the good news is, if  you buy the big tub of yoghurt we only use half, so we still have half left to go with some crunchy muesli for breakfast!

So sit back and enjoy!