Mint Chicken on the Grill
published by vivereque on May 26, 2009
My most recent creative attempt on the grill followed by a salad incarnation. Apologies to those who cook via precise measurements. I experiment only and I can only offer the imprecise and imperfect methods that I use. This should comfortably feed two.
Ingredients
For the cooking side of things…
- 2 chicken breasts
- 6-8 fresh mint leaves (best if pulled off the plant growing in the garden)
- a small finger bowl with olive oil and a brush for basting
- salt and pepper
- a grill, preferably a charcoal grill for maximum flavor
For the serving side of things…
- a small head of lettuce (best if not iceberg…Romaine or any of the leafier types)
- 3 spring onions
- whatever other salad ingredients you like, i.e. mushrooms
- balsamic vinegar
- olive oil
Method
- Fire up the grill!
- Throw the chicken breast on the center (make sure to remove the skin so as to avoid flaming).
- Salt and pepper the exposed side and let that sink in for a bit.
- Flip it while the cooking side still has raw flesh showing.
- Salt and pepper this side; let it cook a bit longer and flip.
- Keep flipping so that the chicken doesn’t get overly cooked on any one side. Between each turn, brush some olive oil on the up-side.
- When the breasts are beginning to brown, but before they are cooked through (check by making a central incision), put three mint leaves on the exposed side.
- To make sure to get flavor out of the leaves, brush on the oil first, apply three leaves, and then let them cook onto the surface of the breast.
- Flip and repeat on the other side (don’t worry if the leaves fall into the fire; as long as they sit on the surface for a few minutes, they will flavor the meat).
- Continue with olive oil basting until the meat is completely cooked.
Serving
- Wash the lettuce and cut to your preference for salad.
- Wash and dice spring onions.
- Add all the vegetable components into a serving bowl.
- Thinly slice the chicken breasts and add to the bowl.
- Splash a little olive oil and less balsamic vinegar onto the concoction. Do not drench the salad…add little by little until you have the perfect balance. You will know that you have added too much if you get a pool of dressing at the bottom of the bowl.
- Mix, mix, mix and serve.
Chilled white wine goes really well with this.
I discovered that the balsamic vinegar balances the mint of the chicken.
