zuchinni

I love the emails I receive every Monday morning from Saveur with Simple Weeknight Meal suggestions. This weeks Pesto-Rubbed Chicken grabbed my attention as I had both pesto and a chicken on hand. It’s still too hot to cook inside so knowing I could make this dish on the grill was a huge bonus. I did not make the Panzella salad suggested with the recipe, but I did throw together a quick Caprese salad with fresh garden tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella. I grilled yellow summer squash and zucchini to serve alongside. It was a quick and flavorful meal. I will be turning the leftover chicken into amazing pesto chicken salad sandwiches. Stay tuned!

for the Pesto-Rubbed Grilled Chicken

1 whole chicken, 3-4 pounds – I chose to spatchcock it as it is so easy to grill that way!

4-6 ounces pesto, any flavor you like. My recipe is here.

My pesto is traditional Pesto Genovese. This preparation would be amazing with roasted red pepper pesto!

olive oil

salt and pepper

Loosen the skin on the chicken. Add the pesto under the skin and spread evenly with your hand. Work your way around the chicken until all the meat under the skin is covered with pesto. Rub the both sides of the chicken with about 2 Tablespoons of olive oil. Season generously with freshly ground salt and pepper. Rub the remaining pesto on the outside of the chicken. Heat the grill to 450′. Place the chicken on the grill skin side down. Cook for about 20 minutes. Turn and cook another 20 minutes. Insert a thermometer to test for doneness. It should be at least 165″ in thickest part. Let chicken rest 10 minutes and then cut into serving pieces.

for the Caprese Salad

fresh garden heirloom tomatoes, sliced into serving sizes

fresh mozzarella, sliced into serving slices

fresh garden basil, torn

fresh cracked pepper and coarsely ground salt

very good quality fruity olive oil. My favorite is California Olive Ranch Arbequina

lettuce “cups” for serving

Layer the tomatoes, cheese and basil in the lettuce cups. Drizzle with olive oil. season with the salt and pepper. I also make this with fresh burratta frequently throughout the summer.

for the Grilled Summer Squash and Zucchini

Slice the squash into thick slices. Brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Grill on each side about 5 minutes, being careful not to over cook. Remove from grill, let rest. Slice for serving. Drizzle the squash with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar or glaze. Season with salt and pepper.

We had an amazing visitor while we were grilling this meal. A beautiful Peregrine Falcon decided to hang out for awhile in a cedar tree in our yard. He was absolutely stunning!

Tonight’s dinner was inspired by a posting by Andrew Scrivani who taught the Food Photography class I took last weekend, at CreativeLIVE.com. The beautiful Tomato and Basil Risotto was created by Martha Rose Shulman, and featured in the NY Times. Andrew shot and styled the photo that was published with the recipe.

While I have a couple ripe tomatoes in the garden, I did not have enough for this recipe. A quick trip to the Farmer’s Market (there is one everyday in the summer, somewhere in Seattle) and we were ready to go. I knew Dave would not be happy with the original vegetarian version of this recipe, so I decided to add in Chicken Italian Sausage and Speck (smoked Prosciutto). Oh, I also added some diced zucchini….I am adding diced zucchini to everything right now!

Laura’s Summer Risotto

Ingredients

extra virgin olive oil, for sautéing

2 quarts of chicken stock

1 pound Italian chicken sausage, removed from casings

5 slices of Speck or Prosciutto, cut into strips

1 small zucchini, diced

1 onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 large diced tomatoes

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

1 1/2 cups Arborio rice

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 cup dry white

1 additional diced large tomato (I used up my small red and yellow cherry tomatoes)

1/2 cup julienned fresh basil

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese – reserve a little for garnish

Put the broth into a saucepan and bring it to a simmer over low heat.

Brown the sausage in a little olive oil in a sauté pan. Add the diced zucchini and the Speck. Sauté about 5 minutes. Add a good splash of wine (about 1/3 cup), steam for a minute. Turn off the heat and set aside.

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a heavy saucepan. Sauté the onion about 5 minutes. Add the rice and continue to sauté about 5 more minutes. The rice will snap and pop.

Add the 3 diced tomatoes, thyme, garlic and salt and pepper. Sauté until the tomatoes have broken down a bit, bout 5 minutes.

Add the remaining wine and stir until it has evaporated and been absorbed by the rice. Begin adding the simmering stock, a couple of ladleful’s (about 1 cup) at a time. The stock should just cover the rice, and should be bubbling, not too slowly but not too quickly. Cook, stirring often, until it is just about absorbed. Add another ladleful or two of the stock and continue to cook in this fashion, adding more stock and stirring when the rice is almost dry. You do not have to stir constantly, but stir often and when you do, stir vigorously. When the rice is just tender all the way through but still chewy (al dente), in 20 to 25 minutes, it is done.

Stir in the reserved sausage mixture.

Add one more ladle of stock to the rice. Stir in the additional diced tomatoes, basil and Parmesan and remove from the heat. The mixture should be creamy (add more stock if it isn’t). Serve right away with a garnish of Parmesan and basil.

Grilled Pesto Rubbed Chicken, Caprese Salad and Summer Squash

Tomatoes, Basil, Zucchini – Laura’s Summer Risotto

Laura’s Summer Risotto

Ingredients