Make a Fruity Marinade
As we’ve mentioned before in The Nutty Scoop, we just love grilling season! We’ve found that it’s pretty important to mix things up if you’re going to grill frequently so no one gets bored with the same old hamburgers and hot dogs. Lucky for us, we love experimenting in the kitchen!
This past weekend, we wanted to create a chicken marinade that was slightly sweet, slightly fruity and incredibly yummy. We only had dried fruit on hand, but, wouldn’t you know it? It came out great, anyway!
To start, chop up about 1 cup of your favorite dried fruit. We used dried mango for this recipe, but dried apricots, dried peaches and dried pineapple would also be tasty. Dump the chopped fruit in a small saucepan and add ½ cup of water. Heat the mixture over medium heat until the water is simmering and the fruit is softened (about 10 minutes or so). Pour the fruit and water into your blender pitcher.
Add 2 tbsp. of fresh lime juice, 2 tbsp. of olive oil and ¼ to ½ cup of white wine to the blender. Then, drop in about ¼ cup of chopped fresh cilantro, several peeled cloves of garlic, about 1 tbsp. of minced scallions or shallots, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Pulse the mixture until it’s smooth, then pour it into a large baggie or bowl. Add 1 to 2 lbs of chicken, pork tenderloin or any other meat to the marinade, and let it marinate in the refrigerator for 2 to 4 hours. Grill the meat as usual and discard the marinade.
This meat is fantastic on its own or in tacos! You can spice it up by adding cayenne pepper or diced jalapeno to the marinade, if you like things a little hotter. Enjoy!
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