Cooking
This new recipe is inspired by the vinegary oregano marinade of spiedies, transforming boneless, skinless chicken breasts into something special.
Good morning! Eric here, filling in for Melissa.
I just got back from the optometrist, who told me my favorite blue-rimmed glasses that I broke in half the other night couldn’t be fixed. “It’s time to move on,” the doctor said, so I bought myself a new pair, with an updated prescription for the first time in 20 years, and stepped into a clearer world.
I think of chicken recipes this way. They need a refresh every few years. And though I will always have a soft spot for my old glasses (a simple, reliable roast chicken), this new pair, spiedie chicken breasts with buttered broccoli, has been serving me well this summer. Native to Binghamton, N.Y., spiedies are marinated and grilled meat skewers, often made with lamb, pork and chicken. (A local favorite, they even have a festival dedicated to them.) This casual dinner, inspired by the vinegary oregano marinade of spiedies, takes boneless, skinless chicken and transforms it into something special, undeniably juicy and — yes — speedy.
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Spiedie Chicken Breasts With Buttered Broccoli
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Tender-crisp buttery broccoli is a fun side dish here, something you can pan-sear after the chicken has had its time staining the skillet with savory remnants of dried oregano and red wine vinegar. Or you could serve the chef Isaiah Screetch’s joyful saladu nebbe, a black-eyed pea salad based on the Senegalese dish of the same name, which my colleague Korsha Wilson wrote about last week. (And as the writer and journalist Bee Wilson wrote for The Times this week, in her case for eating a lot more beans, “When it comes to food, pleasure is what changes the world, because few people make a habit of eating foods they dislike.”)
The Japanese stir-fried noodle dish yaki udon always hits the spot, and this version from Naz Deravian is a weeknight workhorse that can help you clear out your crisper drawer before the next grocery run. And if you’re feeling seafood, how about Yossy Arefi’s grilled shrimp with spicy slaw, a zippy recipe in which charred, citrus-marinated shrimp tops a crunchy tangle of cabbage, cilantro and jalapeños?
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