Rosemary Grilled Chicken with Mint-Parsley Sauce

This recipe is for my sister in-law R. who just spent a few days here with us in San Diego. Dear R is high up there in the skies even as I am posting this on the blog, flying back to New York. She was just here to tour her new house to be aka my weekend and vacation getaway :) Thank you R!!! Anyway, you seem to enjoy this dinner and asked for the recipe.

• 5-6 boned in chicken breast (6lbs)
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoon chopped rosemary
• 1 tablespoon chopped marjoram
• 6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• salt and pepper

Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and herbs in a large baking dish or container. Add the chickens and turn to coat. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, or up to 1 day.Turn chicken once or twice while marinating.

Preheat the grill to medium. Remove the chickens from the marinade, blot off excess oil, and season with salt and pepper on both sides. Place the chickens on the grill, skin-side down. Grill the chicken for 8 to 10 minutes, then turn over. Close the cover and continue cooking for 10 to 15 minutes or until cooked through. Check occasionally for flare up and turn chicken for even golden browning on both side. Test that chicken has reached internal temperature of 165F. Let rest for 10 minutes.Serve with lemon wedges and/or Parsley Mint sauce.

A good accompaniment is Whole Wheat Couscous with Roasted Garlic and Asparagus. Grilled corn completes the meal.

Parsley-Mint Sauce

• 1 1/2 cup lightly packed fresh mint
• 3/4 cup tightly packed fresh flat-leaf parsley
  
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 cup olive oil
• water to thin down mixture
• salt and pepper to taste

Place the mint, parsley, garlic and olive oil in a food processor and process until herbs are coarsely chopped. Add honey and mustard and process until emulsified. Transfer mixture to a bowl and whisk in a few tablespoons of cold water to thin to a sauce-like consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.


Whole Wheat Couscous with Roasted Garlic and Asparagus

• 2 cups of whole wheat couscous (used Trader Joe brand)
• 2 cups of chicken stock
• 2 tablespoon of butter
  
• 1 cup blanched asparagus, cut into 1 inch lengths
• 1/2 cup roasted peppers ( from the jar or freshly roasted)
  
• 1 whole bulb of roasted garlic ( top sliced off to expose bulb, drizzle with olive oil and wrap in foil. Roast on grill when grilling corn)
  
• 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted.
• 1 lemon zested and juiced.
  
• 1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
• salt and pepper

Dry toast the pine nuts over medium heat until golden, remove and cool. Squeeze out the roasted garlic from bulb and coarsely chop them. Set aside.

Bring the chicken stock to boil in a stock pot, together with the butter and grated zest of one lemon. Stir in couscous, roasted garlic, blanched asparagus and roasted peppers. Cover and remove from heat. Let couscous stand for 5 minutes. Fluff couscous with fork. Stir in parsley.Taste, then season with salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste. Add more butter if desired.

Just before serving, toss in pine nuts, stir to combine.