By Gretchen McKay, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Like many home cooks, I keep a kitchen garden planted with herbs during the summer growing season.
I have a pretty good hand with basil and rosemary, and my parsley generally does pretty well, too. Yet one of the most prolific — or dare I say dastardly — patches of green contains mint.
The bully of the herb world, mint is quick to take over a garden by sending its roots outward and upwards in what feels like minutes. Winter’s chill doesn’t kill it and if you’re not persistent, neither does yanking it out at the start of the season.
Leave just one tiny root and — bam! — have you ever got a crop.
Time and again I’ve reminded myself to remove the plant to its own container, but space is limited in my raised beds and I am admittedly lazy when it comes to weeding. So instead, I just pull it out and use the sweet and minty leaves in whatever I can think of that day — a mojito or julep if I’m thirsty for a cocktail, or some sort of sauce if more geared toward dinner.
Because it’s so refreshing and cool, mint is great in a creamy yogurt sauce that can be paired with any number of dishes. Here, the herb takes a spin with Greek yogurt in a food processor with green onion, fresh lemon and jalapeño to create a topping for gently spiced, roasted boneless chicken thighs.
I paired the chicken and sauce with steamed white rice, but any favorite grain is a great accompaniment. You can cut the chicken into slices before serving, or serve whole.
Spicy Chicken Thigh with Mint Yogurt Sauce
PG tested
Marinating the chicken thighs before cooking will help tenderize the meat and add flavor. I let them rest in the marinade overnight in the fridge, but even an hour will add a quick flavor boost. If you don’t use all the marinade when roasting the meat, be sure to discard it.
I used about a cup of packed mint leaves in the yogurt sauce, but you could use more or less depending on how thick and/or chunky you want it to be.
For chicken
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thigh (about 6)
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons tomato paste
5 garlic cloves, minced
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
2 tablespoons dried oregano
Generous pinch of cayenne pepper
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
For sauce
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 bunch fresh mint, leaves picked (about 1 cup), roughly chopped
4 green onions, roughly chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For serving
2 cups cooked rice, quinoa or couscous
Prepare chicken: Pat chicken thighs dry with a clean paper towel. (This will help the marinade adhere better to the meat.)
In large bowl, whisk together olive oil, tomato paste, garlic, lemon juice and zest, paprika, oregano and a generous pinch of cayenne. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Add chicken thighs to bowl, and toss to combine, making sure all of the meat is covered with marinade.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator. Allow chicken to marinate for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
About a half an hour before you want to cook, remove chicken from fridge and allow it to come back to room temperature. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Place chicken in a roasting pan (I used a cast-iron skillet) and roast for 25 to 30 minutes, or until chicken registers 165 degrees on an instant-read thermometer.
While chicken is roasting, prepare the yogurt sauce. Add yogurt, mint, green onions, jalapeño pepper, lemon zest and juice and olive oil to the bowl of a food processor or blender. Process until the mixture is as smooth or chunky as you like. (I made it fairly smooth.)
Pour sauce into a serving bowl, season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside while you plate the chicken.
Remove chicken from the roasting pan or skillet to a serving platter. If you like pour some of the juices in the pan on top.
Slice chicken thigh into thin slices, or serve whole with your favorite grain and the mint yogurt sauce.
Serves 4.
— Gretchen McKay, Post-Gazette
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