You’d have to be crazy not to love this time of year. Even with climate change (yes, it is a thing, and we are complicit), the worst of the heat, at least locally, is undeniably more pleasurable than the average icy February day.
For instance, say, what’s your favorite summer song? It’s so hard to choose; there are just so many, no matter what your personal jam is. Now try to come up with a winter favorite. “The Song of Winter?” That’s not even a thing.
“Summertime, and the living is easy.” George Gershwin wrote that, channeling a universal truth, whether you fancy that particular tune or not.
The absolute best thing about this particular time of year is the produce. Markets and farm stands are overloaded with the freshest local offerings and infinite varieties of fruits, vegetables and herbs lined up for “their moment” in the sun. It’s hard not to overindulge and easy to forget that this bounty needs to be processed. But admit it: Who wants to cook when there are so many other pleasant diversions?
Regarding cooking and this current conundrum, consider basil. Undeniably plentiful this time of year, it’s the zucchini of the herb world. Pesto is a universal go-to recipe for processing lots of it, and everyone you know undoubtedly has their favorite recipe, so don’t think this column will offer yet another.
Warm pasta dishes and cold pasta or bean salads are just a few ways to use up lots of pesto, and you’ve probably got a few others of your own to that end. But I recently found myself with half of a good-sized tub of it and thought it might be put to use as a marinade for vegetables or meat, in this case chicken.
Also on hand was a pint of local heirloom cherry tomatoes and some perfect green beans, all begging to be consumed. Blanching the green beans (for tenderness), and adding them to the tomatoes and some sliced shallots, marinating the chicken in pesto, thinned out with a bit more extra-virgin olive oil, was truly a no-brainer, and if I’m being honest hardly a recipe at all.
Prep time is roughly 20 minutes, especially if you’ve got the pesto on hand.* And working from the sheet pan cooking playbook, it’s all roasted together — first for 20 minutes, chicken skin-side down, then for another 20 minutes, skin-side up, to crisp. An additional couple of minutes under the broiler adds a little char and color if you like, plus it’s a lot less effort and a lot quicker setup and cleaning than grilling.
You can definitely repurpose this formula for whatever vegetables appeal to you in the moment. Substitute blanched wedges of fennel, slices of eggplant or zucchini. No pesto? No problem. Almost any flavorful vinaigrette will substitute nicely, or even just a simple emulsion of olive oil, lots of lemon juice and a grated clove of garlic.
Have no fear vegetarians: The same process can be used for firm tofu, tempeh, seitan or any other favored protein analog, with a bit of adjustment in roasting time.
Salt and pepper to taste, then finish it off with a handful of fresh-chopped herbs (tarragon, oregano, mint) when serving. As advertised: nice and easy.
Pesto Roasted Chicken and Summer Vegetables
- 12-16 oz. green or wax beans (or a combination of the two)
- ½ cup basil pesto*
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large clove garlic, grated
- 4 large bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 1 pint (or more) heirloom cherry tomatoes
- 4-6 medium shallots, peeled and cut into ¼-inch to ½-inch wedges
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Baby spinach or crusty bread, or both, for serving
1. Bring a large pot of water to a medium boil and salt it generously. Add the beans and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Drain and chill in an ice bath or under cold, running water. Drain the beans and get rid of as much water as possible. Trim to 3- to 4-inch lengths and reserve to a large mixing bowl.
2. In a small bowl or measuring cup, mix the pesto, ¼ cup olive oil and grated garlic until relatively smooth. In a medium bowl, coat the chicken in half of the pesto mixture and let it marinate for about 30 minutes.
3. While the chicken marinates, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Oil a casserole or baking pan large enough to hold the chicken and vegetables. To the bowl of beans, add the cherry tomatoes, shallot wedges and pesto, stirring gently to coat all. Add the vegetables to the prepared casserole or pan. Salt and pepper all to taste.
4. Once the chicken has marinated, lay the pieces, skin-side down, on top of the vegetables, reserving whatever pesto is left. Salt and pepper the chicken to taste and roast in the middle of the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and using tongs (not a fork), flip the pieces skin-side up. Return to the oven and roast for another 20 minutes. (You may want to finish off the cooking with a few minutes under the broiler to crisp the skin.)
5. Serve with a drizzle of the remaining pesto sauce and some crusty bread to soak up the plentiful juices. Or. if you like, serve it on top of fresh baby spinach (you can never have enough dark green leaves) and let the warm chicken, vegetables and their juices wilt the greens.
* You can certainly make your own pesto, basil being as plentiful as the recipes for it. But a container of a good-quality, locally made product will do just fine.
Hey Joe, I like your column, thanks for your insights. I found a fresh chicken-of-the-woods mushroom and made a risotto with it, but was thinking you might have a fresher take on this mushroom.
I have to say I have never found chicken-of-the-woods satisfying. They’re about the texture — like meat, especially if you get them young — but not particularly flavorful. As impressive as they look, I’ve learned to avoid the woody mature ones, opting for the more tactilely tender young ones. I trim away the tougher stalks, simmer them until just tender (in chicken or vegetable stock) and slice them into strips and use them like chicken for soups, stews and stir-fry. Your risotto sounds like a good idea. I like them with sweet summer corn and the combo makes a good chowder. You might even be able to get away with grilling them, but they’ll re-quire an assertive sauce. I hope this helps.