Scallion Pesto Chicken
It’s a three day weekend this weekend, and three day weekends always have me torn. I mean, it’s great that we have an extra day to lounge and hang out. But it also means that the kids are out of school for an extra day. So, now we have to find something for them to do. Well, one thing we could do is plan or go to a party. That’s always fun because you get to hang out with friends, have a drink or two and just relax. And since it’s Memorial Day this weekend, and the official start of summer, that’s all the more reason to party.
While I love to play host, there’s so much preparation that goes into a party. I have to clean the house, figure out what I’m going to serve, go shopping and make sure I have enough beer and wine for all my guests. It’s a lot of work. Fun work, but work nonetheless. I would much rather go to a party. See, if I’m a guest, I don’t have to worry about how nice the house looks, if there will be enough food or how much wine I need to buy. As a guest, I only need to worry about one thing: what I’m bringing. See, as someone who loves to cook, I always like to bring an extra dish or two to help out. Most of the time I bring a cocktail, but every so often, I’ll bring food instead.
Ali Rosen’s Bring It!
Cookies or cakes are usually at the top of my potluck list, but sometimes I’ll bring a salad or entreé. While I have a stock list of dessert recipes, I’m always at a loss as to what kind of salad or entreé to make. Well, thanks to Ali Rosen, I no longer have to guess. She’s just released a brand new cookbook called Bring It! that’s full of great potluck recipes from appetizers to desserts.
I met Rosen at Melissa’s Produce a few weeks ago and was instantly smitten. She had wonderful tips on not only what to bring to potlucks but how to get each and every recipe to your final destination. I got to taste several of the recipes and they were all so good, I couldn’t wait to get the book home and create one or two. While I’ve only had it for a few weeks, I gotta tell you, I absolutely love it! I’ve already made several things including some mini lemon meringues and these amazing pear and blue cheese endive boats (both of which will be coming soon to this blog). Everything I’ve made or tasted has been absolutely delicious, but when I saw this Scallion Pesto Chicken, I knew I’d found something utterly unique.
Pesto Chicken
Not only is this chicken dish super easy to make, the pesto is savory deliciousness. Now I usually stay away from things made with pesto because almost every single pesto recipe I’ve ever seen has either pine nuts or walnuts in it. But not Rosen’s. Her pesto doesn’t have a single, solitary nut anywhere in it. See, as I’ve mentioned before, Hubs is allergic to all nuts, which means it’s rare that I can make a pesto he can eat. So, when I discovered that Rosen replaced the standard pine nut or walnut with sunflower seeds, I was ecstatic. Those sunflower seeds add a nice, nutty flavor that when combined with the garlic, scallions and lemon juice, make for a wonderful tangy pesto that melds perfectly with the salty chicken.
While this chicken is a great dinner option any night of the week, it’s even better for a potluck. Since this dish is comprised of drumsticks, wings, breasts and thighs, it’ll serve a large group of people and doesn’t need a fork or knife. And the flavor… as I mentioned, the flavor is out of this world. I love the tanginess from the lemons, but what really kicks this dish over the top is the spiciness from the garlic and scallions. It’s really amazing, and I can’t wait to make it again. And since this weekend is a serious party weekend, I don’t have to wait. And neither do you.
Ingredients
- 2 cups chopped scallions
- 6 tablespoons raw, unsalted sunflower seeds
- juice of 2 lemons
- 6 garlic cloves
- 4 teaspoons capers
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with foil and set aside.
- Combine the scallions, sunflower seeds, lemon juice, garlic, capers and oil in a blender and blend until there are no more lumps; divide into 2 bowls.
- Sprinkle the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Spread the scallion mixture from one bowl onto the chicken. Place the chicken onto the prepared sheet, skin-side down and roast for 15 minutes. Flip the chicken pieces over and roast for another 10 minutes or until it reaches 155 degrees F. Let the chicken rest for at least 5 minutes.
- While the chicken rests, spread the remaining scallion pesto over the chicken and serve. (If you have extra pesto, serve it on the side with the chicken.)
