Grilled Chicken with Green Olive and Parsley Sauce
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Serves: 4
Technically this is a summer recipe but here in Florida, it's basically always hot so I have an excuse to cook this on the grill year-round. Several people have requested this recipe after seeing images on my Instagram feed but it turns out Lee literally lifted this one directly from the pages of the NYT cooking blog. Giving credit where it is definitely due — thank you Ali Slagle for this delicious dish!
Ingredients
1½ pounds chicken (we use 4 small 4 oz. breasts)
extra-virgin olive oil
¾ cup parsley, leaves, and stems, finely chopped
¼ cup Castelvetrano olive brine
1 fresh red chile, thinly sliced
1 cup Castelvetrano green olives, pitted and torn into pieces
1 lemon
Kosher salt and black pepper
Grilling Needs
a tightly folded paper towel soaked in olive oil
tongs
Preparation
Dry brine the chicken by placing thawed breasts on a plate and seasoning with 1 teaspoon of salt. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. You can brine for up to 24 hours. When you are ready to cook the chicken, pat it dry and set aside.
Preheat a gas or charcoal grill for approximately 10 minutes or until the grill reaches a temperature of roughly 450° degrees.
In a large, rimmed serving dish, stir together ½ cup olive oil, parsley, green olives, olive brine, and chile. This is your sauce.
Zest about 2 teaspoons of the lemon into the dish. Squeeze in half the lemon juice (about 1½ tablespoons), and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cut the remaining lemon half into wedges for serving.
When you’re ready to grill, lightly coat the chicken with olive oil. Take the chicken, sauce, a pair of tongs, and a tightly folded paper towel soaked in olive oil to the grill. Clean the grates with a grill brush, then oil the grates with the olive oil paper towel. Grill the chicken until well browned on one side, about 4 to 6 minutes. It should easily release from the grates. For a gas grill, close the lid between flips, listening and keeping an eye out for flare-ups. Flip and cook an additional 3-5 minutes, until the breasts register 155 degrees in the thickest part, 2 to 3 minutes for breasts.
Transfer the chicken to the sauce and turn to coat. Let rest for at least 5 minutes and up to 30. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and a squeeze of lemon.
To Serve
Divide between plates and spoon extra parsley and green olive sauce over the top of each piece of chicken.
Garnish with remaining lemon wedges.
