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| Funke Koleosho's Coconut Oil & Locust Beans Dressing |
I actively seek new ways to swap the oils I use in my cooking and food with coconut oil (wherever practicable that is). I eat coconut oil as though the "world is coming to an end"....the benefits are way too many to overlook it. (Read more about Coconut Oil here).
As it is, I already use coconut oil in my cooking, baking and frying. I am now looking at using it in my salads.
So rather than use those sugar laden salad dressings, I concoct coconut oil "potions" as a substitute.
Coconut is an excellent carrier oil which means other ingredients mingle well together in it and with slight heating, their essences, flavours and aromas infuse extremely well.
The first one I tried was quite simple and straightforward. It was good enough for me and the thought that I was eating virgin coconut oil (the healthiest oil on earth) made it even much better for me. It did actually taste good. Try it.
What you need:
- Virgin or pure coconut oil (if it has solidified, you would need to heat it a little to melt it)
- Black pepper corns
- Pink pepper corns
- Locust beans (whole beans not the mashed up one. Rinse well and ensure that all particles are removed. Also rinse in some water with a dash of vinegar to remove some of the pungent odour. Then place in the oven (low temperature) for a short while to dry out the water/moisture.) Locust beans are like Marmite, you either love them or hate them. Sincerely this dressing wont be the same without them but their use is optional.)
- Sea salt
- A dash of lemon juice (optional)
What to do
- Place some coconut oil into a bowl. You wont need to make large quantities of this dressing so make the quantity that's just enough for your salad.
- Heat the oil into liquid if solid.
- Add your preferred quantity of freshly milled black peppers and pink pepper corns.
- Divide the locust beans into two portions. Finely chop one portion and leave the second portion as whole beans.
- Then add the locust beans to the oil along with the peppers and salt.
- You can add a hint of lemon juice (optional) and stir very well.
- You can use straight-away or allow the flavours to infuse for a while (perhaps 10 minutes.) before use. (Note that the oil may solidify if left for a while especially if you live in a temperate country. Just heat briefly, swirl round to mix the other ingredients then drizzle over your salad.)