Carambola & Pistachio Chicken

Tags

carambola, chicken, dinner, food, foodie, gourmet, pistachio, postaday2011, recipe, star fruit

I am looking for more ways to use star fruit in my cooking, in fruit salads and desserts is just the obvious ways. I wanted to try something different so I whipped up this chicken. Hubster wasn’t a fan of the citrus but I enjoyed it… I guess you can’t always agree on everything. I originally planned on grilling the chicken, but I was just in the  mood to stick it in the oven and forget about it for a while.

Carambola & Pistachio Chicken

 

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, 1/2 c. pistachios, 2 star fruit, 1/2 small shallot, 1/4 c. honey, 1 Tbsp. fresh ground ginger, 1 Tbsp. fresh chopped cilantro, 1 tsp. lime zest, 2 Tbsp. lime juice, fresh ground sea salt, 1 tsp. pink peppercorns

Directions:
In a food processor blend together 1 star fruit, 1/4 c. pistachios, shallot, honey, ginger, cilantro, lime juice & lime zest, salt and pepper. Place chicken in casserole dish and pour marinade over chicken and keep chilled. Preheat oven 350°F, bake chicken until center is no longer pink. Garnish with sliced star fruit and remaining pistachios.

Serve with pomegranate pistachio rice or basmati pistachio rice.

What was for dinner at your house?

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Spinach, Star Fruit & Pistachio Salad

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bleu cheese, carambola, chicken, chicken salad, cooking for two, entree salad, food, foodie, fruit, lunch for two, pistachio, postaday2011, recipe, red bell pepper, side dishes, spinach, star fruit, vegan, vegetarian

The other night Hubster and I stopped by a grocery store that we don’t normally get to. I was amazed when I spotted a few fresh star fruit, since I haven’t be able to find them in this area since I moved here. I ran over to them and started squeezing them to check their firmness, Hubster looked completely confused and asked what the are. After I replied, the 5-year-old boy in him came out. “They can’t ever taste good if I’ve never seen them in the grocery store before. That’s the ugliest fruit I’ve even seen, they don’t even look good.” I then held up an Ugli fruit for him to view… conversation was derailed.

This day, I did something simplistic and used them in a salad. Two variations, a light vegetarian salad for me and a non-vegetarian entrée salad for him. His final verdict on the fruit? Tastes okay, like a fruit. 🙂 I think star fruit tastes like a light citrusy pear.

Vegetarian & Vegan Version
Spinach, Start Fruit & Pistachio Salad Ingredients:
1 star fruit (sliced), sliced red pepper, pistachios, baby spinach leaves, sesame ginger dressing

Spinach, Star Fruit & Pistachio Salad Directions:
Arrange mixed greens on plate and top with chicken, star fruit, peppers and pistachios. Drizzle with dressing.

Spinach, Star Fruit & Pistachio Side Salad

Meat Eaters Entrée Salad Variation
Ingredients:
1 Spinach, Star fruit and Pistachio salad from above, 1 chicken breast, teriyaki sauce, bleu cheese crumbles, raspberry vinaigrette dressing (in place of sesame ginger dressing)

Directions:
Marinate chicken in teriyaki breast and grill. Slice chicken and arrange on salad. Sprinkle with bleu cheese and drizzle with dressing.

Chicken, Spinach, Star Fruit & Pistachio Entrée Salad

I prefer this with sesame ginger dressing, Hubster enjoys his was raspberry vinaigrette, you combo might be different…

What recipe do you make two different variations, for you and your spouse/partner?

Basmati Pistachio Rice

Tags

basmati, easy meal, easy recipe, Indian cooking, Indian cuisine, Indian food, pistachio, postaday2011, quick & easy, recipe, rice, side dishes, vegan, vegetarian

As a side dish I was going to make plain basmati rice and daal. However, when I looked in my pantry there were no lentils. I had to quickly change my plans to create a lightly flavored rice.

Basmati Pistachio Rice

Ingredients:
2 c. water, 1 c. basmati rice, 1 c. pistachios, 2 bay leaves, 1 small piece of cinnamon stick, 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Directions:
Bring water, olive oil and bay leaves to boil. Add rice and cinnamon stick, cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes. Remove cinnamon stick and bay leaves. Fluff rice and stir in pistachios. Serve hot.

Serve as a side dish with curried vegetables.

What quick substitutions have you had to make recently?

Pomegranate Pistachio Rice

Tags

dinner, food, foodie, fruit & nut, fruit and nut, gourmet, lunch, pistachio, pomegranate, postaday2011, recipe, rice, rice vinegar, side, side dish, supper, vinegar

I read a post where a guy made “Mexican Pom and Almond Rice“, it looked good, but I had a few hang ups about the side dish. Pomegranates aren’t really Mexican, so the pairing just didn’t work for me even though I love almonds. Also the recipe was missing a little oomph! I modified the recipe to focus of the pairing of Asian products…

Pomegranate Pistachio Rice

This was a delicious side dish I prepared, just as appealing to the eye as it is the palate… The textures are fun as they swirl across your tongue and the colors of the unusually paired ingredients dance for your eyes.

Pomegranate Pistachio Rice Ingredients:
1 c uncooked rice, 2 c. chicken stock, rice vinegar, 2 Tbsp. white rice vinegar, 1 c. pomegranate seeds, 1 c. halved pistachios, chili powder, garlic powder and fresh cracked black pepper

Pomegranate Pistachio Rice Directions:
Place uncooked rice and chicken stock in pot, cover and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low and simmer until rice is done. Remove from heat, stir in chili powder, garlic powder, black pepper and rice vinegar. Combine all ingredients and serve hot.

What unusual ingredients have you paired recently?