Easy cooking in summertime

NORENE GILLETZ

When the days are hot and hazy, no one feels like spending long hours in the kitchen preparing hot, heavy, time-consuming meals. That's why hearty salads and grilled dishes are on the menu at my house during the hot summer months.

The grilled chicken breast recipe below comes from The Science of Good Food by David Joachim and Andrew Schloss, with A. Philip Handel – it features some 200 color photographs and more than 100 recipes. I'm also including two easy no-cook salads from my latest book, Norene's Healthy Kitchen.

First, some grilling tips from The Science of Good Food. Direct grilling is similar to broiling, except the fire is underneath the food instead of above it. The method is best for foods that need to brown on the surface and will cook through in less than 30 minutes.

To set up a grill for direct grilling, the entire grilling area should be exposed to fire. On a gas grill, this means turning on the required number of burners to the desired temperature. On a charcoal or wood grill, it means setting up a continuous bed of hot coals. Sometimes high heat is required at first for browning the surface of a grilled ingredient and then lower, more gradual heat is needed for cooking the food.

Before an ingredient touches a grill, the grill grate should be thoroughly heated, which ensures that the surface of the ingredient gets a blast of energy at the onset of cooking. For direct grilling, a hot grill grate is necessary to force heat deeply into the meat as quickly as possible; once the heat moves from the highly conductive metal grate into a less conductive steak, the heat transfer slows down dramatically. That's why high heat produces a thick crust on the surface of a steak but doesn't necessarily make the steak cook through any faster.

To attain and maintain constant heat during grilling, nothing is more important than having a grill with a lid. Closing the lid traps heat, which speeds the cooking and evens out fluctuations in temperature. The one downside of using a lid is that it traps moisture, which inhibits a crusty surface from forming on meats. To get the best of both worlds, cover the grill while cooking the first side of a steak or chop to help intensify the heat, then leave the lid open after flipping the meat so that you don't soften the crust you just created.

DIRECT-GRILLED CHICKEN BREAST WITH BARBECUE GLAZE
Source: The Science of Good Food (Robert Rose Inc.)
Boneless skinless chicken dries out easily, so one idea is to soak it in brine for a few hours before setting it over the fire. To direct-grill chicken over charcoal or wood you need a hot bed of coals (very thin layer of ash). A gas grill should have all of the burners adjusted to medium-high, 425 to 450 Fahrenheit (220 to 230 degrees Celsius).

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, about 1.5 lbs (750 g)
1⁄3 cup granulated sugar
1⁄3 cup kosher salt
1 cup hot (not boiling) water
3 cups ice cold water
1⁄2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 1⁄4 cups barbecue sauce, bottled or homemade
Oil for coating grill grate

Place one chicken breast on a sheet of plastic wrap, sprinkle with cold water, cover with another sheet of plastic wrap and pound to an even thickness of about one inch. Repeat with remaining chicken breasts.

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine sugar, salt and hot water. Shake to dissolve salt and sugar. Add cold water and chicken breasts. Press the air out of the bag, seal and refrigerate for one to two hours.

Heat the grill as directed in the introduction above.

Remove chicken from the brine and discard the brine. Pat chicken dry and sprinkle all over with pepper. Rub with oil.

Clean the grill grate with a wire brush and coat with oil. Place chicken on the grill, cover and cook, turning once, until no longer pink and the juices run clear, about 160 degrees Fahrenheit on an instant-read thermometer, four to five minutes per side. Brush with barbecue sauce during the last three minutes (you won't use all of it). If your grill has a temperature gauge, it should stay around 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and serve with remaining barbecue sauce on the side.

Makes four servings.

BROCCOLI SALAD FOR A CROWD
Source: Norene's Healthy Kitchen (Whitecap Books)
Judy Mandel of Toronto shared her recipe for this scrumptious, colorful salad, which I've modified slightly. It has made the rounds among our friends and is always a hit, especially on a buffet table. It makes a large quantity but can be halved easily. Be sure to try the variations below.

2 or 3 bunches broccoli (about 3 lb or 1.4 kg)
1 large red onion, chopped (about 2 cups chopped)
1 red pepper, seeded and chopped (optional)
1 cup light mayonnaise
2 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice (preferably fresh)
2 tsp granulated sugar or granular Splenda
1 cup dried cranberries, raisins or dried apricots
1 cup toasted pine nuts, sunflower seeds, and/or slivered almonds
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)

Rinse the broccoli thoroughly and drain well. (To make broccoli easier to digest, blanch it in boiling water for one minute, then rinse with cold water and drain well.)

Cut off and discard the woody ends of the broccoli stalks. Using a paring knife, trim away 1/8 inch of the outer peel from the remaining stalks. Chop the broccoli into bite-sized pieces. Place in a large bowl and combine with the remaining ingredients. Mix well.

Transfer the salad to a serving bowl, cover and refrigerate until needed.

Yields about 12 cups. It can be made up to a day in advance and keeps for up to three to four days in the refrigerator.

Variations include:

• Top with one cup grated low-fat cheddar cheese just before serving.

• Bev Binder's Broccoli Salad with Feta: Use only 1/2 cup light mayonnaise and add 1/2 cup low-fat yogurt. Increase sugar to two tablespoons and add 1/2 to 3/4 cup feta cheese. Bev makes her version with lemon juice, raisins and sunflower seeds.

• Vinaigrette: Omit the mayonnaise and vinegar and add 1/2 cup of your favorite low-calorie vinaigrette.

LAUREN'S BLACK BEAN SALAD
Source: Norene's Healthy Kitchen (Whitecap Books)
My granddaughter, Lauren Sprackman of Richmond, B.C., chose her favorite ingredients to create this version of her mother Jodi's bean salad. Lauren adds feta cheese "because I like it!" You can easily substitute chickpeas or kidney beans for the black beans.

1 can (19 oz/540 ml) black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup chopped red onion
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp minced garlic
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Combine the beans, onion, oil, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper in a large bowl and mix well. Sprinkle with feta cheese and serve immediately.

Yields about three cups (six servings of 1/2 cup each) and keeps for up to three to four days in the refrigerator.

For more color and fibre, make Tex-Mex Bean Salad. Omit the feta cheese and add one cup drained corn kernels, one red pepper, chopped, and 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro or parsley. Makes about four cups.

Norene Gilletz is a cookbook author, cooking teacher and food consultant who lives and cooks in Toronto. Her latest book is Norene's Healthy Kitchen (Whitecap Books). For updated information about her cookbooks, cooking classes and to sample Passover recipes from her cookbooks, visit her website at gourmania.com.

^TOP