Grilling: Chicken with Roasted Garlic-Oregano Vinaigrette and Fingerling Potatoes
Each week Joshua Bousel of The Meatwave drops by with a recipe for you to grill over the weekend. Fire it up, Joshua!
Chicken tends to be my go-to item when I want something to grill after work but haven't planned anything in advance. It's quick, healthy, and can easily be livened up with a simple sauce. Although not that exciting, it does the trick to fill the belly. When I came across this chicken recipe in Bobby Flay's Grill It!, I got all jazzed up about the roasted-garlic vinaigrette pairing, thinking it may add the needed punch to make a last-minute meal truly excellent.
Unfortunately expectations were not quite met. The meal was pleasant enough--a juicy, crisp-skinned grilled chicken along with silky fingerling potatoes, and while the sauce added a decent flavor to both, it didn't provide the extra depth I wanted. The roasted garlic and oregano were actually diminished by the flavors of the oil and vinegar, and while this is easily fixed by adjusting the vinaigrette proportions, I think the real problem is that I'm trying to make a quick grilled chicken more than it really can be.
About the author: Joshua Bousel blogs about grilling on his blog, The Meatwave, and appears weekly here on Serious Eats during grilling season.
Grilled Chicken with Roasted Garlic-Oregano Vinaigrette and Fingerling Potatoes
Adapted from Grill It! by Bobby Flay.
Ingredients
For the chicken and potatoes:
12 fingerling potatoes
4 bone-in chicken breasts
Freshly ground black pepper
Kosher salt
Olive oil
Fresh oregano sprigs, for garnish
For the vinaigrette:
8 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Procedure
1. Put the potatoes in a medium saucepan, cover with salted cold water, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until a paring knife inserted into the potatoes comes out with some resistance, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain well, and when cool enough to handle, slice in half lengthwise.
2. Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and spread coals out evenly over the charcoal grate.
3. Place garlic cloves in heavy duty tin foil, drizzle with olive oil, seal, and place directly in the coals. Cook until gloves are browned and very soft, about 20-30 minutes. Remove from the grill and squeeze cloves out of the skin when cool enough to handle.
4. Combine the garlic, vinegar, honey, oregano, and chili flakes in a blender and blend until smooth. With the motor running, slowly add the oil and process until emulsified. Pour into a small bowl and set aside.
5. Brush the chicken and potatoes with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place chicken on the grill, skin side down and grill until browned and crisp, about 6 to 7 minutes. Flip chicken and continue cooking until an instant read thermometer reads 165°F in the thickest part of the breast. A few minutes before the chicken has finished, place the potatoes on the grill, cut side down, and cook until lightly golden brown, about 2 to 4 minutes. Turn over and continue grilling for a minute longer.
6. Remove chicken and potatoes to a platter and immediately drizzle with the roasted garlic-oregano vinaigrette. Let rest for 5 minutes, garnish with oregano sprigs and serve.
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1 Comment:
Look delicious! As a vegan, I'd look for a chicken substitute, but the potatoes do look amazing
Marilyn
rawfoods at 4:08PM on 08/09/09