Recipe: Homemade Coconut Milk

HOMEMADE COCONUT MILK

1 coconut
1/4 to 1/2 cup tepid water, if necessary

To open the coconut, place an ice pick or screwdriver in one of the eyes of the coconut and hit it with a hammer. Allow the coconut liquid to drain into a bowl; reserve.

Split the coconut in half.

To remove the flesh, either hold the pieces shell-side-down over a gas flame for 2 minutes or roast on a baking sheet in a 400 degree F oven for 5 minutes. The flesh will separate from the shell. Peel off the brown skin and roughly chop the flesh.

Place the coconut flesh in a blender with the reserved liquid and pulse to puree. If the mixture seems too dry, add the tepid water and pulse until incorporated.

Pass through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing hard to extract all the liquid.

Store, refrigerated, for up to 2 days.

Makes 1 cup
Source: A Return to Cooking by Eric Ripert and Michael Ruhlman