Honestly in the summer I can’t be bothered with much. Dinner of a meat and a veg. Perhaps a second veg. If it doesn’t require cooking. And if Cherub loves it. Only then.
So if you’re like me and don’t feel up to much, stop by the farmers’ market in your town on Saturday morning and pick up two or three things for a Saturday night grilled dinner: some chicken thighs with the bone removed but the tasty skin left on, some fresh sweet corn and some grape or cherry tomatoes.
If you buy your ingredients from reputable and local farmers, you can be assured of freshness and flavor you wouldn’t normally get at the grocery store. And if you’re a lazy cook in the summer, these are the greatest things you can buy because you have only the slightest work to make something really tasty.
Spiced Chicken Thighs with Grilled Corn and Lime Butter, serves four
6 chicken thighs, bone removed, skin left on
1 garlic clove
1 T chili powder
1 T whole cumin seeds
1 T brown sugar
1 t salt
2 T olive oil
4 ears sweet corn
4 T butter
1 t chili powder
Zest from 1 lime, juice from 1/2
Salt
Prepare grill (I prefer a charcoal).
In a mortar and pestle combine garlic, all spices and olive oil and mash to a consistent paste. Rub onto chicken and allow to marinate from 15 minutes to two hours.
Grill chicken for 15 to 20 minutes or until meat is no longer pink and juices run clear.
While chicken is cooking, gently peel back husks to remove silk from corn, carefully replacing husks to cover back over the corn. Mix lime zest with juice and spices along with softened (not melted) butter to create an even mixture. Place corn in husks over cooler coals after chicken is cooked and resting and cook for approximately 10 minutes, turning frequently.
To serve, eat outside, for God’s sake.
Remove husks from corn and slather with butter mixture. Serve with chicken. And perhaps some of those tomatoes that you didn’t bother to cook, merely wash. And a wine, maybe an A to Z 2009 Pinot Gris.
Playlist included Thursday, the mixtape by The Weeknd.
