Chicken Alla Diavola And Grilled Wax Bean And Tomato Salad

At the beginning of the month, Joe and I finally joined the Park Slope Food Co-op. We'd been joking about it since we moved here last summer since the co-op has such a silly reputation. Members must work a 2 hour and 45 minute shift every 4 weeks. It's kind of dumb because there are over 16,000 members and the store is always over staffed. Plus, a lot of Park Slope moms have their nannies work their shifts, and the New York Times ran an expose a few years back. Despite the reputation of co-op members,  I actually really enjoyed my first shift, it was pretty cool to see how a grocery store works behind the scenes. 

Additionally, the groceries really are a lot cheaper. Everything in the store is marked up exactly 21% from wholesale. At a normal grocery store, items are marked up anywhere from 40  to 200%. So some items that are typically marked up a lot end up being significantly cheaper. This is particularly clear in the produce section. In addition to being cheap, the produce is also really fresh. It's basically farmer's market quality. The co-op website puts up a list every morning of that days produce and prices, and I love checking the list every morning. It's so exciting! 

This meal was inspired by what looked good at the co-op last week, and, honestly, this is one of the best dinners I've never had. I cannot recommend this method for grilling chicken enough. Joe actually said that this was the best chicken he'd ever had, which may be an exaggeration, but it was still really, really good. The wax bean and cherry tomato salad was also out of this world.

I followed this recipe for the chicken.  At first I was a bit nervous about butterflying the chicken, but it turned out to be incredibly simple. Using kitchen shears and beginning at the cavity, cut along either side of the back bone. (Save the back bone to make chicken stock!) Tuck the wing behind themselves and voila! Super easy. Next, make a marinade with 1/4 cup lemon juice and 1/2 cup olive oil. Rub the chicken with 2 teaspoons each red pepper, black pepper, and salt. Marinade at room temperature for 1 hour, flipping the chicken half way through. After flipping the chicken, start the coals on your grill. Build the fire at one side of the grill. When the coals and the chicken are ready, place the chicken skin side down on the opposite end of the grill as the fire. Using the excess marinade and a small brush, baste every 5-10 minutes.  Flip after 20 minutes and continue basting. Begin checking your chicken for doneness after 20 minutes on each side. I've made this chicken twice now, and both times it took closed to 55 minutes total, but this will depend on the temperature of your fire. 

If you can't get your hands on wax beans, this salad would be great with green beans too. But, look for wax beans! They're delicious and in season right now. To begin, I made a garlic and basil oil by simmering 1 cup olive oil with 2 cloves of garlic over low heat for 45 minutes. Halfway through add five large basil leaves. Remove from heat and let cool before using. The oil will keep in the refrigerator for 1 week. Toss the wax beans and the tomatoes in 1 tablespoon of oil each. Grill the tomatoes on a sheet of tin foil as far away from the fire as you can for about 15 - 20 minutes. Grill the wax beans over direct heat for about 1 minute. Do the beans in small batches so your less likely to let them fall through the grates of your grill. Toss the tomatoes and the green beans together, add basil for garnish, crumbled goat cheese, and a drizzle more oil. Enjoy this meal outside and with a glass of wine!