Grilled, Marinated Chicken

Last week Ian complimented me on my recipes because I never list ingredients that aren’t obtainable in most good supermarkets or specialty food stores here.

I thanked him while mentally having some reservations about the plants in my backyard, knowing full well that many readers have neither the time, inclination, or space to grow herbs that aren’t available in the Central – or any other market in Trinidad but make a tremendous difference to more than one dish published in this column.

Agriflora grows – and sells – some of those herbs but when I asked about my latest discovery, Citrus or Lime or Lemon Basil, the lady in charge told me they had grown some, but no one was buying.

Well, Agriflora’s customers don’t know what they were missing, nor I until I discovered the virtues of that herb – and garlic chives that thrive in clay pots in my backyard.

I introduced readers to citrus basil AND garlic chives a couple of weeks ago with the recipe for “Fish Fillets with Herb and Tomato Topping.”

This week we – well, I’ll be using them again in this melt-in-the-mouth “Grilled Marinated Chicken.”

Which reminds me, I have some young citrus basil that should be ready to leave home in a few weeks’ time – if any reader is interested? And some rather elderly seeds of garlic chive, because the ones I sowed a year or so ago are still producing more than I can possibly use.

So, any takers, before we launch into this week’s recipe? And, for the record, I lashed out on a pack of skinless, ready-boned chicken solely on behalf of avid readers of this column, of course. Let’s begin now with...

5 tablespoons of minced fresh herbs.

I used a mixture of citrus basil, shadow (chadon) beni – but you can use coriander if you’re able to grow it in your yard (I have trouble with it in mine) garlic chives, tarragon, thyme (I used lippia that grows like a small, spiky bush), dill and a pinch of gheera (cumin) seeds.

2 pegs garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon minced ginger

2 teaspoons dark soy (or tamari, if you can find it)

1 teaspoon lime juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons plain yoghurt

Pinch of cayenne (chilli, or red hot) ground pepper

Dash of Worcester sauce

Tip of prepared Colman’s English mustard

Freshly ground black pepper

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (or skin and bone them yourself and save the bones and – if you’re not scared of cholesterol – skin to make chicken stock).

METHOD

Put all the marinade ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and stir well to combine.

Cut the chicken breasts into chunks about an inch square (or thereabouts) and add to the marinade in the bowl. Toss to coat thoroughly.

You can cook this at once, but I put all in a resealable plastic bag and let it marinate in the refrigerator for a couple of hours or so.

Then, having soaked my wooden skewers in water for half an hour, I threaded the chicken pieces on skewers and grilled them in my George Foreman grill for about 3 minutes.

Serve your grilled, marinated chicken with a mixed salad and slices of baguettes (French bread).

Note: Don’t let the long list of herbs put you off trying this recipe if you’re reading it on the Internet and can quite easily get all the herbs you need.

It only takes a very few minutes to wash and dry them and put them through a small hand mincer with the ginger.

Bon appetit!