Grilled Chicken Skewers With Deconstructed Pesto Recipes

GRILLED CHICKEN AND MOZZARELLA PESTO SKEWERS

Steps:

• Place the chicken in a bowl. Put the eggplant cubes in a separate bowl and add the peppers.
• Sprinkle the chicken with a third of the orange zest, and some oil, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste. Toss well.
• Sprinkle the vegetables with another third of the zest, and some oil, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste. Toss well.
• Preheat a grill for cooking over medium-high heat. Build skewers, alternating chicken cubes with vegetables. Lightly oil the grill grates. Grill, turning once, until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are charred and tender, 2 minutes per side.
• Meanwhile, place the mozzarella cubes in another bowl and sprinkle with the remainder of the zest, along with some oil, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste. Toss well.
• Thread the mozzarella cubes on the tops and bottoms of each of the skewers. Drizzle with pesto and serve immediately.

GRILLED CHICKEN SKEWERS WITH RED PEPPER PESTO

Steps:

• Blend first 7 ingredients and 6 tablespoons of oil in a food processor until almost smooth. Add almonds and process until finely chopped, but not ground. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Prepare grill (medium-high heat) or preheat broiler. Brush chicken with remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces. Skewer each piece with toothpick. Arrange on platter and serve with pesto.

GRILLED PESTO CHICKEN KABOBS

Steps:

• Whisk oil, sherry, pesto, lemon juice, salt, and pepper together in a glass bowl. Add chicken pieces and stir to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours to overnight.
• Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat and lightly oil the grate.
• Thread marinated chicken, mushrooms, zucchini, red onion, and tomatoes alternately onto skewers. Reserve remaining marinade.
• Place kabobs onto the preheated grill, and cook, turning occasionally and brushing with the reserved marinade, until chicken is cooked and juices run clear, 10 to 15 minutes.

GRILLED CHICKEN SKEWERS WITH DECONSTRUCTED PESTO

Steps:

• Build a fire in your grill; when the flames have died down, all the coals are covered with gray ash and the temperature is medium (you can hold your hand 5 inches above the grill for about 5 seconds), you're ready to cook. (For a gas grill, turn all burners to high, lower cover and heat for 15 minutes, then turn burners to medium.)
• Combine the chicken, 3 tablespoons of olive oil and the salt and pepper in a large bowl and toss well to coat, then thread the chicken chunks onto the skewers so they press up against one another but aren't jammed together.
• Put the skewers on the grill directly over the coals and cook, rolling the skewers around every 3 to 4 minutes to ensure all the sides are more or less evenly exposed to the heat, until lightly seared, about 12 to 14 minutes. To check for doneness, make a small cut and peek inside a couple of the chunks to be sure they are opaque all the way through with no pink.
• Slide the chicken chunks off the skewers into a large bowl, add all the other ingredients one after the other, toss well to coat evenly, season to taste if needed and serve.