Despite the fact that as I type this there is snow falling outside my window – I’m full on ready for spring entertaining and spring grilling! We love to grill, well by we I mean, my husband. I may or may not request he grill something most nights instead of doing a lot of actual cooking myself. Grilling is so easy, there’s minimal clean up and you can’t beat the taste!

Since he’s the cook in our family, I totally consulted him when I was tasked with creating a recipe with Pearls® Garlic Stuffed Olives. You see, I don’t love olives on their own, but I love mediterranean flavors. I knew olives were involved and then let my husband decide on the spices. What we came up with was fresh, bright and tasty, like summer on a plate. Paired with fresh flowers and a pretty table setting – you’ve got yourself a party.

Mediterranean Grilled Chicken with Pearls® Garlic Stuffed Olives

Ingredients

(Makes 4 servings)

1 pound of chicken breast 
1/2 cup chopped Pearls® Garlic Stuffed Olives
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 lemon (juice)
1 Shallot chopped
2-3 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
salt & pepper (to taste)
2 tbsp oregnao
2 tbsp basil

Directions

1. Make the marinade. Mix together the chopped olives, olive oil, white wine (I used cooking wine), lemon juice, parsley and shallot.
2. Place chicken breast in a shallow pan and cover with the marinade. I’ll note, I wish I had cut my chicken thin, next time I will do that! 

 4. Mix together, basil, oregano, salt and pepper.
5. Rub chicken with spices.
6. Cover and refrigerate.
7. Let marinate in the refrigerator for 1+ hour or overnight. I would recommend overnight.

8. When you’re ready to grill heat the grill to medium-high. Grill each side for roughly 4-6 minutes per side until cooked through.

To complete the meal I made these roasted potatoes, that I seasoned with Trader Joe’s Everything Bagel Seasoning and a simple spinach salad.

If you’re serving a party, you could also put out an olive, cheese and fruit tray to hold everyone over until dinner. Anytime I entertain, I always default to a tray as an appetizer, it’s one of those things that’s really easy to put together, but always looks nice! I love to try out new cheeses too.

I’ll also mention, if you use other olives, you may want to add a little garlic. I loved the garlic flavor of the Pearls® Specialties Garlic Stuffed Olives! They weren’t overly salty and even my husband said, he could eat them right out of the jar because they weren’t overwhelming. There is also a pitted kalamata variety as well as a blue cheese stuffed variety which would be great for an appetizer tray! You can find them all on Amazon or use the store locator to find Pearls®!

Do you love to grill in the spring and summer?

-Brooke