Coconut-Lime Chicken with Braised Greens, Gingered Squash, and Toasted Cashews

Juicy chicken thighs marinated in coconut milk, lime, garlic, and ginger, then roasted until golden, with silky coconut-braised greens, roasted butternut squash glazed with ginger, and toasted cashews for crunch.

Yield: Serves 4 · Active: 30 min · Total: 1 hr (plus at least 1 hour marinating) · Best in North America from fall through winter, when winter squash and hearty greens are at their peak · Best eaten: early evening

Ingredients

Chicken

• 2½ lb pasture-raised bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

• ½ cup full-fat coconut milk

• Zest and juice of 1 lime

• 3 garlic cloves, grated

• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated

• 1¼ tsp Baja Gold sea salt

Gingered squash

• 1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cubed

• 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted

• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated

• ½ tsp Baja Gold sea salt

Braised greens

• 1 large bunch collards or kale, stems removed, leaves sliced

• 1 tbsp coconut oil

• 2 garlic cloves, sliced

• ½ cup full-fat coconut milk

• Pinch of salt and a squeeze of lime

To finish: ½ cup cashews, toasted and chopped; fresh cilantro; lime wedges

Method

1. Marinate the chicken in the coconut milk, lime, garlic, ginger, and salt for 1–12 hours in the fridge.

2. Roast the chicken and squash. Heat the oven to 425°F. Set the chicken skin-side up on a parchment-lined pan (shaking off excess marinade) and roast 35–40 minutes, until golden and 175°F. Toss the squash with the coconut oil, ginger, and salt and roast on a separate pan 25–30 minutes, until caramelized.

3. Braise the greens. Warm the coconut oil with the garlic over medium heat, add the greens, and toss 2 minutes. Add the coconut milk, cover, and simmer 6–8 minutes, until silky. Finish with salt and lime.

4. Toast the cashews in a dry skillet over medium heat 4–5 minutes until golden.

5. Plate. Pile the braised greens on each plate, add the gingered squash, set the chicken on top, and finish with cashews, cilantro, and lime.

Storage: Chicken, up to 4 days refrigerated; squash and greens, up to 4 days; toasted cashews, up to 2 weeks in a jar.

Nourishment Notes: Pasture-raised chicken brings complete protein, B vitamins, and collagen. Coconut milk offers lauric acid. Ginger adds gingerols. Butternut squash brings beta-carotene and potassium. Collards and kale offer calcium, vitamin K, and glucosinolates. Cashews bring magnesium, copper, and zinc.

For your cycle: Cashews' magnesium and squash's steady carbohydrate make this especially satisfying in the luteal phase, and ginger is soothing during the menstrual phase.

Sourcing

• Chicken thighs — pasture-raised, from a local farm raising birds on pasture, or White Oak Pastures

• Coconut milk and coconut oil — organic, full-fat coconut milk (Native Forest Simple, in BPA-free cans); organic, virgin, unrefined coconut oil

• Butternut squash, greens, ginger, garlic, limes, and cilantro — organic

• Cashews — organic (every cashew sold, even "raw," has been heat-treated)

• Baja Gold sea salt

— Anna aka Food Marshall