Grilled Chicken Breasts with Soy and Honey Marinade

I prefer chicken breast on the bone — it tends to be juicier because the bones protect the meat from the heat. And besides, I am a bone chewer!

On the other hand, when it’s summer and I’m a little less motivated to cook and want an easy dinner, boneless chicken sure comes in handy.

I’ve made this dish many times (changed the sweetener to agave or maple; once used molasses; used pineapple juice instead of orange juice; left out the chili pepper because my sister-in-law, who was coming for dinner, doesn’t like even a hint of spice in her food). It’s easy to prepare the marinade and the good thing is, I can marinate the chicken ahead of time. Cooking takes anywhere from 10 to 16 minutes, max.

Easy peasy.

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Grilled Chicken Breasts with Orange, Soy Sauce and Honey

• 1/4 cup soy sauce

• 1/4 cup orange juice

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 tablespoon honey

• 1 tablespoon grated fresh orange zest

• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger

• 2 scallions, finely chopped

• 1 clove garlic, chopped

• 1 teaspoon finely chopped serrano or jalapeno pepper

• 4 skinless and boneless half chicken breasts or 8 small chicken thighs

Combine the soy sauce, orange juice, olive oil, honey, orange zest, ginger, scallions, garlic and chili pepper in a deep dish. Place the chicken in the marinade, refrigerate and let rest for 1-4 hours, turning the pieces occasionally. Preheat an outdoor grill or oven broiler. Remove the chicken from the marinade and grill for 5-8 minutes per side, depending on size and thickness, turning the pieces occasionally, or until cooked through.

Makes 4 servings

Pebre Sauce

Lamb Kebabs with Pebre Sauce

Chili peppers weren’t always so popular. Before Szechuan cuisine came along in the late 1960s most of the food we ate in this country was really mild and bland.

Okay, there was Tabasco, but that was just about it. Look in the supermarket now and you’ll see bottles and bottles and packages of Harissa, Schug, Thai chili pastes and Sriracha and all sorts of other “hot stuff.”

We’ve been in search of hotter and spicier everything for ages now.

A few years ago my brother, who lives in Argentina, told me about another hot condiment called Pebre, which is similar to Chimichurri, with lots of chopped up chili peppers plus cilantro, parsley and so on.

Pebre is Chilean but well known in other South American countries. Somehow not as well known here.

But it should be. I’ve made it many times. When I was writing Hip Kosher and wanted to bring in some new and different seasonings for the recipes, I decided to experiment with this particular sauce and in the book I paired it with beef kebabs.

But, Pebre goes with any grilled or roasted meat and it’s a good dip for grilled vegetables too. You can use it as a marinade and also a condiment/dipping sauce. Also, you can add a little to mayonnaise or vinaigrette dressing to use on salad, especially potato salad.

Pebre Sauce

• 1 cup packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

• 2 large garlic cloves, quartered

• 1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

• 1 small habanero or serrano pepper, deseeded and chopped

• 1/2 cup olive oil

Process the parsley, cilantro, garlic, oregano, lemon juice and pepper in a food processor until they are finely chopped. With the machine still on, gradually pour in the olive oil.

Makes about 1/2 cup