Cape Malay-ish Pineapple Chicken with Pineapple Salsa

Slightly sweet, savory and spicy, this pineapple chicken with pineapple salsa is easy to make and so flavorful! Serve it with coconut or plain rice.

Back at the beginning of the first pandemic lockdown, I was already addicted to finding reading material through the Libby app and my own library cards. I borrowed lots of books, of course, but I also searched for magazine with recipes.

One day I came across one called Koe’sister from South Africa. It was brand new, created from a desire to share and preserve family recipes during the pandemic. Published in a mix of English and Afrikaans, it opened a window on a world I had only touched tangentially, through South African friends. 

Funnily enough, as I read one issue, I discovered that one of my expat friends was a contributor! How tiny is this world of ours? 

I also discovered that South African cuisine is as diverse as ours in the United States and includes a subset of culture and recipes from Malays who settled in the Cape area, bringing their love of spices and curries. I was introduced to cookbook authors like Fadella Williams who wrote The Cape Malay Illustrated Cookbook, Cariema Isaacs who has authored four cookbooks - all focused on her Cape Malay heritage and recipes - as well as blogger and author Salwaa Smith and her self-published Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights.

Both The Cape Malay Illustrated Cookbook and Smith’s blog have many wonderful flavorful recipes but two in particular caught my eye because New York Times Cooking had shared something similar just before I found them. Williams calls hers “pineapple peri-peri chicken” and Smith titles her simply “pineapple chicken.” Both use canned pineapple but Smith’s was closer in flavor profile to the NYT Cooking version.

Of course, these three recipes for chicken with pineapple sent me down an internet rabbit hole, looking for more Cape Malay recipes. Hey, we were on lockdown. I had all the time in the world. 

Cape Malay-ish Pineapple Chicken with Pineapple Salsa

As you can tell from my title, I did finally get around to making some pineapple chicken and I’m here to tell you, it is SO GOOD. I took some liberties by using fresh pineapple and adding the pineapple salsa recommended by NYT Cooking, hence the -ish. 

Ingredients

1 ½ pounds or 680g boneless, skinless chicken breasts

For the marinade:

3 packed tablespoons dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon fish sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for cooking

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt 

3 cloves garlic, smashed and minced

½ teaspoon ground cayenne

½ teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons finely grated fresh pineapple, including accumulated juices

For the pineapple salsa: 

¼ medium red onion, finely diced

1 cup or 170g fresh pineapple

Small handful fresh cilantro, finely chopped

1 red chili pepper, thinly sliced

For serving:

Cooked white or brown rice (also nice with coconut rice)

Method

Cut the chicken breasts into bite-sized chunks. 

In a large Ziploc bag, stir together the brown sugar, rice vinegar, soy sauce, fish sauce, 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt, minced garlic, ground cayenne and black pepper.

Transfer 1 generous tablespoon of the mixture to a medium bowl and add the chopped onion. Stir well. 

Cut the pineapple for the salsa into 1/2 in or 1 cm chunks. Add them to the onion bowl along with the cilantro and chili pepper. Toss until well-mixed and set aside.

Finely grate two tablespoons of the remaining pineapple. Add the pineapple and any juice to the marinade in the plastic bag.

Add the chicken chunks and toss to coat. Squeeze all the air you can out of the bag and seal. Set it aside to marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes (and no longer, otherwise the chicken turns mushy.)

Once the chicken is done marinating, pour the chicken into a sieve or strainer over a bowl to collect the leftover marinade. 

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high and add enough olive oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan. Cook the chicken pieces in batches so they don’t touch and are in a single layer. 

Cook until the bottoms are browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn them and continue cooking, until browned on all sides, a few minutes more. 

Remove to a plate and repeat with the next batches of chicken pieces (adding a little more olive oil to the pan if necessary) until all are browned and almost cooked through. 

Once the chicken is all on the plate, pour the leftover marinade into the pan and whisk while it cooks. Make sure to heat it to bubbling for several minutes to make sure it’s cooked through.

Tip the chicken pieces and any juice that has accumulated on the plate back into the pan.

Stir well to coat the chicken in the cooked marinade and heat until the chicken is piping hot and ready to serve. Serve with rice and the spicy pineapple salsa.

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes from African cuisines and cultures. Many thanks to our host, Sue of Palatable Pastimes. Check out the links below:

• Cape Malay-ish Pineapple Chicken with Pineapple Salsa from Food Lust People Love
• Chicken and Jollof Rice (Nigerian) from Palatable Pastime
• East African Chapati from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Githeri from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Red Harissa Chicken from Sneha's Recipe
• Rgaif (Moroccan Flat Bread) from Karen's Kitchen Stories

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Overnight Sourdough Cinnamon Waffles #BreadBakers

While the sourdough starter in these overnight sourdough cinnamon waffles adds flavor, the addition of buttermilk and baking soda makes them fluffy and light. 

Since we got back to Jersey a couple of months ago, I’ve nursed my sourdough starter back to robust good health and have enjoyed using it in a number of baked treats like sourdough baguettes, rolls and muffins. 

Since it survived the several months of abandonment, I decided it finally deserved a name so it was duly christened Jane Dough. The quart jar sports a label now with her name.

Jane is the most forgiving of souls. She lives in the refrigerator most of the time, but when I know I’m going to need her good services, she has place of pride on the countertop where she gets a decent meal (100 percent hydration which means 50g water and 50g flour, stir well) and sits out for a night. If it’s chilly, I warm her up by sitting her jar in a bowl of warm water first. 

Overnight Sourdough Cinnamon Waffles

This recipe is adapted from one on the King Arthur Baking website. They used sourdough discard but I decided to feed Jane Dough up the day before instead because she was getting low and the half cup would have been a lot to use, leaving her dangerously small. If you have enough discard, certainly use it. 

Ingredients - makes 8 square Belgian waffles

For the overnight sponge: 

1/2 cup or 113g sourdough starter (fed or unfed)

1 cup or 125g flour

1 cup or 240ml buttermilk

1 tablespoon sugar

For the batter:

all of the overnight sponge

1 large egg

2 tablespoons canola or other light oil

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Scant 1/2 teaspoon salt

Method

To make the overnight sponge, stir down your starter, and remove 1/2 cup or 113g. In a large bowl, whisk together the starter, flour, buttermilk and sugar, 

Cover with cling film and leave rest at cool room temperature (about 65°F to 70°F) for about 12 hours, or overnight.

The next morning, beat the egg and oil together in a small bowl. As you can see off to the left, Jane Dough has done some good work overnight. Bubbling along nicely. 

Add it to the overnight sponge, stirring just to combine.

Add in the cinnamon, salt and baking soda and fold well to combine. 

To make the waffles: Pour the batter onto your preheated, greased waffle iron, and bake according to the manufacturer's instructions. 

Repeat with the remaining batter.

If you like crunchy waffles, I suggest serving them immediately. You can hold them in a warm oven till they are all baked but they do lose some of their crispness then. 

Serve with a generous smear of softened butter and lashings of syrup. 

Enjoy! 

It’s the second Tuesday of the month so that means it Bread Baker day! We are sharing recipes for breads with spices. Many thanks to our host, Swathi of Zesty South Indian Kitchen. Check out all the links here: 

• Ajwain Paratha by Cook with Renu
• Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough Bread by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Ginger and Earl Grey Sourdough with Dates by A Messy Kitchen
• Fire Roasted Corn Fritters by Palatable Pastime
• Kardemummabullar (Swedish Cardamom Buns) by Culinary Cam
• Sourdough Chocolate Cardamom Bread by Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Overnight Sourdough Cinnamon Waffles by Food Lust people Love
• Stuffed Cheesy Braided Turkish Kebab Bread Rolls by Sneha's Recipe

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

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Carrot Greens Pesto

Don’t waste those carrot tops, make pesto with them! Garlicky, cheesy and rich with toasted pine nuts, carrot greens pesto is a delicious way to take advantage of an ingredient many people cut off and throw away. 

Sometimes I buy carrots in the organic section of the supermarket (or at a farmer’s market) just so I’ll also have the greens to make pesto. It makes me feel virtuous to use something that many people don’t, but best of all, it’s wonderful and fresh. 

On that same subject and nothing to do with this recipe, but did you know you can also eat the greens from beets? I sauté them with garlic and a little olive oil, sprinkle of salt and they are so good! And I get to feel virtuous again. 

Carrot Greens Pesto

My greens were from seven carrots, as you can see in the photos but if you have a bit more or less, it’s still all good. I roasted the carrots and served them with pesto on top for an all-carrot dish. The leftover pesto was fabulous stirred through linguine, always my first choice pasta shape. 

Ingredients

1 cup, packed, or 30g carrot greens, leafy parts only, no stems

Scant 1/3 cup or 50g pine nuts

3 cloves garlic

1/4 cup or 60ml olive oil

1/3 cup or 30g freshly grated Parmesan

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Method

Toast the pine nuts in a dry non-stick skillet. This doesn't take long, just a few minutes. Keep shaking the pan so they don't burn. 

Cut the ferny ends of the carrot greens off, leaving the harder stems behind. 

Stuff them in your small food processor and add the other ingredients except the Parmesan. 

Process until smooth. Add the Parmesan. Process again. 

Like all pesto, it’s that easy. 

Chill until ready to use. Put some pasta on to boil or roast the accompanying carrots. Pat yourself on the back and feel virtuous. One less item for the compost or trash bin. 

Bonus recipe: Roast Carrots 

Not really a recipe, but here you go. This is how I do it. 

Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C. 

Pop the scrubbed carrots in a small pan and drizzle them with olive oil. 

Roast the carrots in your preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until they are lovely and a little sticky and a fork pokes into them easily. You might want to give them a shake halfway through if your oven doesn't heat evenly all round. 

Top them with the carrot greens pesto and serve warm. 

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes for homemade sauces. Many thanks to our host Amy of Amy’s Cooking Adventures. Check out all the links below: 

• Nasturtium Pesto by Cook with Renu
• Buffalo Chicken Sauce by Palatable Pastime
• Homemade Marinara Sauce by Sneha's Recipe
• Carrot Greens Pesto by Food Lust People Love
• Rockfish with Cajun Butter Sauce by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Stir-Fried Squid in Black Bean Sauce by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Parsley Walnut Pesto by Mayuri's Jikoni
• Pineapple BBQ Sauce by Amy's Cooking Adventures

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

Pin this Carrot Greens Pesto!

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