29 Recipes That Make Us Go Crazy for Coconut
Coconuts transport us straight to the tropics. It's that whole silky, creamy, coat-your-mouth rich thing we're into. So when the temperature outside goes up, we start spiking everything we eat—sweet and savory—with a touch of coconut milk and a pinch of toasted flakes. From pork sausages in coconut-chile sauce to a just-missing-booze coconut and cream float, here are 29 recipes that have us crushing on coconut.
24/29Coconut, Pistachio, and Cacao Chocolate Bark
Each year, the Food Lover’s Cleanse includes a bit of chocolate. A little sweet reward at the end of a disciplined day helps the program seem less stern, and bittersweet chocolate has its own antioxidant virtues. This bark combines unprocessed cocoa nibs, toasted coconut, and chopped pistachios for a crackly texture. Storing it in the fridge will give it extra snap, though the chocolate may acquire a dull bloom in there.
26/29Curried Mussels
Pulling mussels from the shell is a delightfully hands-on way to get your lean protein. The little black shellfish are easy to cook; the only trick is to sort them carefully beforehand. Toss out any cracked shelled mussels, as well as any open ones that don’t close up tight when you squeeze them. The beards are the tough little fibers that help mussels cling to rocks; to remove them, just pinch the hairy fibers with a clean kitchen towel and pull. Don’t do this much before cooking, though, because the mussels can’t survive long after they’ve been plucked.
