Healthy Grillin'

Here are two great recipes for the grill. Some of my favorite recipes come from Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, and these two are of no exception. Her show on the Food Network is what fills my TiVo, much to the chagrin of my husband. The first is Tuscan Lemon Chicken, a whole flattened chicken that is grilled using bricks or a ceramic dish.

A few suggestions about this recipe:
*When using the ceramic dish to hold down the chicken, first cover it in aluminum foil so as not to ruin the dish.
*Have the butcher cut the back out of the chicken for you. Ina says this is easy to do, but why bother if you don't have to? Most butchers will do it free of charge and you can save the extra piece for stock.
*Keep in mind that if you are using a gas grill, you may have to cook the chicken in the oven even after it has been grilled in order to cook it all the way through. The same is true if you buy a chicken that is larger than suggested in the recipe.

Now that we have that out of the way, here is the first recipe.

Tuscan Lemon Chicken

Ingredients

* 1 (3 1/2-pound) chicken, flattened
* Kosher salt
* 1/3 cup good olive oil
* 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
* 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
* 1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
* 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
* Freshly ground black pepper
* 1 lemon, halved

Directions

Sprinkle the chicken with 1 teaspoon salt on each side. Combine the olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, rosemary, and 2 teaspoons pepper in a small measuring cup. Place the chicken in a ceramic or glass dish just large enough to hold it flat. Pour the lemon marinade over the chicken, turning it in the dish. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Turn the chicken 2 or 3 times while marinating.

When ready to grill, prepare a hot charcoal fire on 1 side of a grill (or turn a gas grill on low heat). Spread most of the coals across half of the grill. Place the chicken, skin side up, on the opposite side of the grill and place the dish you used for marinating on top of the chicken to weight it. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until the underside is golden brown. Turn the chicken skin side down, weight again with the dish, and cook for another 12 to 15 minutes, until the skin is golden brown and the chicken is cooked through. Place the lemon halves on the cool side of the grill, cut side down for the last 10 minutes of cooking. Remove the chicken to a plate or cutting board, cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Cut in quarters, sprinkle with salt, and serve with the grilled lemon halves.

The second recipe is called Grilled Panzanella, which is an Italian bread salad. Sounds kind of weird, but it is really tasty and fairly simple. I served the two recipes together and it was a great combination. Here is the recipe below...

Grilled Panzanella

Ingredients

* Good olive oil
* 1 teaspoon minced garlic
* 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
* 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 1/2 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded and sliced 1/2-inch thick
* 1 large ripe tomato, cut into 1-inch cubes
* 10 large basil leaves
* 3 tablespoons capers, drained
* 1 red onion, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
* 1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 3 large pieces
* 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into 3 large pieces
* 1/2 small ficelle, cut into 1-inch thick slices

Directions

Prepare a charcoal grill with hot coals. Brush the grilling rack with olive oil.

In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic, mustard, vinegar, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Set aside.

Place the cucumber, tomato, basil and capers in a large bowl, sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss together. Set aside.

When the grill is ready, brush 1 side of the onion slices and the peppers with olive oil. Place them, olive oil side down, on the grill and cook for 4 minutes. Brush the other side with olive oil, turn them over and continue cooking an additional 4 minutes. Remove the vegetables from the grill and place on a cutting board. Slice the peppers 1/2-inch thick, separate the onion rings and add them both to the cucumber mixture.

Brush the bread slices on both sides with olive oil and toast them on the grill until golden. Add them to the cucumber mixture. Pour the reserved vinaigrette over the vegetables and toss together. Serve warm.