Gastography

This recipe grew from a craving. A pineapple and tomato craving. And what’s better to pair with pineapple and tomato than the salty tang of coconut aminos? Not much, I’ll tell you, unless you’re talking about heat. Fresh heat from diced jalapenos takes this salsa over the edge. The components are great in and of themselves, but with the slight pepper crunch from the jalapeno, something magical happens.

This recipe takes a little marinating time – about an hour – but the chicken comes out well worth it. This is a riff on a soy/pineapple/egg white chicken my mother used to serve and never fails to bring me right back to that dish, which at the time was one of my favorites and ever-so-exotic.

Tropical Chicken & Broccoli with Spicy Pineapple Salsa

Tropical Chicken & Broccoli

2 boneless skinless breasts chicken
4 Tbsp. coconut aminos
2 tsp. honey
1 big pinch red pepper flakes
2 c. broccoli
Drizzle olive oil
Pinch salt
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 Tbsp. sesame seeds

Spicy Pineapple Salsa

1.5 cups fresh pineapple
1 c. cherry tomatoes
1 tsp. honey
1/2 jalapeno
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp. rice vinegar
Big pinch flaky salt
1 tsp. chipotle powder (optional. I’m not sure it added anything to the dish)

First, get your salsa going. If you are using fresh pineapple, peel and core and cut into bite-sized pieces. If you’re going the canned route, do yourself a favor and pick pineapple in natural juice; you don’t want cloying sweet here since you’re looking to walk a balance between sweet, hot and tart. Add the pineapple to a medium bowl.

De-seed and dice the jalapeno, halve the tomatoes and crush the garlic. Add to the pineapple bowl, along with the honey, rice vinegar and chipotle powder if you’re using.

Stash in the fridge to give the flavors a chance to marry.

Cut the chicken into strips and add to a large plastic bag, along with the coconut aminos, 2 tsp. honey and red pepper flakes.

Marinate in the fridge for an hour.

While things are chilling, put your broccoli on a baking sheet, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt. Broil until starting to brown, flip, and continue broiling until nicely browned to just about where you want it – about 25-40 minutes depending upon how large your pieces are and how far from the heating source you place the rack.

When the broccoli is done, add to a large pan with the sesame oil and sesame seeds and toss to finish browning. Set aside.

Add some fat to the pan and sautee the chicken until done through and browned on all sides. Be careful while the chicken cooks, as the honey will want to burn. Keep it moving so that doesn’t happen.

Serve the chicken topped with salsa alongside the broccoli.

Serves 2 for dinner.