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More Savory, Less Sweet

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Grilled Pesto Rubbed Chicken, Caprese Salad and Summer Squash

08/06/2014 by Laura 1 Comment

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!

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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.

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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!

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Filed Under: Poultry, Quick - Week Night Tagged With: basil, chicken, grilled, mozzarella, pesto, tomatoes, zuchinni

Manicotti with Three Sauces

08/03/2014 by Laura 1 Comment

We were watching the food channel the other night; Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, I think.  As we tuned in at the end of an episode, we caught a glimpse of a cannelloni with three sauces.  Dave, my nephew and I all commented that it looked really good.  The three sauces pesto, béchamel and marinara were layered on the cannelloni to represent the Italian flag.  So when the daily conversation turned to “what shall we make for dinner” I decided we would give it a whirl.  I had homemade pesto and marinara in the freezer and béchamel sauce only takes a couple of minutes.   We took a quick survey of the pantry and only needed a few things.  I usually use spinach and mushrooms in my filling, but since it is August and there are zucchini piled high in the veggie drawer, I decided that would be the “green” in the filling.   I think my nephew went home one day too soon!

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For the Manicotti 

1 – 1 lb. chub of Italian Chicken Sausage

3/4 cup finely diced onion

4 cloves of fresh garlic, minced

3/4 cup of small dice zucchini

2 Tablespoons freshly chopped Italian parsley

2 Tablespoons freshly chopped  basil

salt and pepper

olive oil for sautéing

1/2 cup dry white wine, to deglaze the pan

1  1 lb. container whole milk ricotta

2 eggs

3/4 cup of mozzarella, finely diced

(I like diced over shredded as you get little gooey cheese puddles in the filling!)

1/4 cup grated parmesan

12-16 manicotti tubes, boiled according to package directions

For assembly and serving

2/3 cup of prepared pesto

2 cups prepared marinara sauce

1 cup béchamel sauce

Add 2-3 tablespoons olive oil to a large sauté pan and heat over medium heat.  Add the sausage and break up the chunks while cooking.  Add in the zuchinni, onion and garlic and continue to cook until the vegetable are soft and the meat is browned.  Add the white wine, stir and let simmer about 5 minutes until the liquid has evaporated.  Season with salt and pepper.  Remove from stove, pour into a large mixing bowl and let cool.

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While the meat and vegetable mixture cools, prepare the manicotti.  Boil for about 5 minutes.  Drain and rinse with cold water.  Set aside until ready to stuff.

In a small bowl, mix together the ricotta, eggs, diced mozzarella and parmesan.  Add to the cooled meat and vegetable mixture and mix well.   Prepare a baking dish by lightly oiling it.

Fill the pasta tubes.  I used a very small spoon to stuff them.  When we finished Dave said “we should have used a pastry bag”!  Of course we should have used a pastry bag….what was I thinking?

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Lay the filled tubes into the baking pan.   Heat the oven to 350′.  Add 3-4 Tablespoons of water to the baking pan and cover tightly with foil.  Bake about 20 minutes and remove from oven.

While the pasta is baking, warm the marinara sauce in a small pan on the stove, prepare the béchamel sauce and pesto.

Basic Béchamel Sauce

4 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup finely diced onion

2 cloves finely minced garlic

1/3 cup Wondra flour

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

1/4 cup grated parmesan

salt and pepper.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onion and garlic and sauté until the vegetables are soft.  Whisk in the flour to make a light roux.  Slowly add the milk and continue to simmer until thickened.  Add the cheese, nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste.  Set aside.  In a small bowl, mix about two tablespoons of béchamel into the 2/3 cup of pesto.

Remove the pasta from the oven.  Layer the sauces on to the pasta in the desired fashion.  My choice was three separate “sections”.  You certainly could layer marinara, then béchamel and then pesto, one on top of the other.  Return the pasta to the oven, uncovered and bake another 10 minutes.  Garnish with grated cheese and freshly chopped Italian parsley, and touch up the sauces, if needed.

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 Buono appetiteo!

 

Filed Under: Pasta, Poultry Tagged With: bechamel, Italian, italian chicken sausage, manicotti, marinara, mozzarella, parmesan, pasta, pesto, zucchini

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