Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Grilled Chicken & Peaches

Welcome! I spent a long time thinking about what I wanted my first recipe to be - I knew I wanted it to be something simple and delicious so that ya'll could get a good idea of what you're going to see here.

Earlier this month I was in Italy and discovered the wonder that is Peaches with Parmigiano-Reggiano. I stayed at a little farmhouse just outside of Florence, and the Matriarch of the estate made breakfast everyday. And, just for me, she would always include fresh fruit from her orchard and chunks of wonderfully nutty Parm. It quickly became my new obsession!

So when I got home, I knew that I had to add a peach and cheese recipe to my collection. Here's what I came up with -- as anticipated, it is incredibly delicious!


Ingredients:

1 tbs honey
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic
zest from 1/2 of a lime
2 tsp EVOO, plus some for drizzling
1 6-8 oz chicken cutlet
1 fresh peach
1 oz Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

In a small sauce pan, whisk together honey and vinegar. Simmer over meduim-low heat until reduced by about 1/3, about 10 minutes. The mixture will be slightly syrupy at that point.

Use a small grater or zester to shred the garlic onto a cutting board. Add the zest of lime (about ½ of the total skin). Add 1 tsp EVOO and mix with your fingers, and rub mixture into one side of the chicken cutlet.

Heat grill pan over medium-high heat. Quarter the peach and remove the pit. Place on grill flesh-side down. Grill each flesh-side (each piece will have 2) until there are visible grill marks, about 45 seconds. Remove and set aside.


Place chicken on grill, garlic side down. Use a brush to lightly coat the other side with remaining tsp EVOO. Grill 2 minutes. Rotate 45 degrees, and grill another 2 minutes. Flip, and repeat. Chicken is done when there’s no more pink and juices run clear.

Serve chicken cutlet alongside the peaches. Top both with crumbled chunks of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and drizzle with the Balsamic reduction.

Estimated Calories: 270
Prep/Cook Time: 15 minutes

This meal is going to pack a good amout of protein and loads of tongue-tingling flavor. I'm sure it will become a quick favorite -- it's one of mine!

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