Cilantro Lime Chicken

This comes from the Nordstrom "Entertaining At Home Cookbook". Its a flavorful Mexican marinade with fresh lime, cilantro and garlic that produces chicken that is consistently moist and tender. You can have success with as little as half of the marinating time before the chicken hits the grill, even though its best to marinate for a minimum of an hour.

You can skip the flattening the chicken, just make sure that its done all the way through. Also, don't have to criss cross when grilling, its more for presentation. But it does look really pretty!

Ingredients:
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, tenderloin section included
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup EVOO
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 TBSP chopped fresh cilantro plus swigs for garnish
1-1/2 tsp packed brown sugar
1-1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
vegetable oil for brushing grate
1-1/2 cups favorite salsa ( I like Costco's mango salsa)
1 cup sour cream (I used light)

Directions:
Place a chicken breast between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and using the flat side of a meat mallet, gently and gradually flatten it until it is about 1/2 inch thick. Repeat with the other chicken breasts. Place the chicken in a 1 gallon ziploc bag or in a shallow dish.

To prepare the marinade, in a bowl, combine the lime juice, EVOO, garlic, chopped cilantro, brown sugar, salt, cumin and pepper and whisk until thoroughly blended. Pour the marinade over the chicken, coating all sides well. Squeeze all air out of the bag and seal it, or cover the dish. Refrigerate the chicken for a minimum of an hour or for up to three hours. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before grilling.

Preheat grill on medium.

Remove the chicken from the marinade and drain off the excess marinade. Brush the grill with veg. oil. Place the chicken directly over the fire. Grill, uncovered, for about 1-1/2 minutes. Rotate the chicken 90 degress to create attractive cross-hatching and cook for 1-1/2 min. longer. Flip the chicken breast over and continue grilling, uncovered, repeating the steps for cross-hatching, until tender and the juices run clear when the meat is pierced with a knife, 3-4 minutes longer.

Remove the chicken from the grill and transfer to warmed dinner plates or a larger platter. Spoon some salsa over each portion, followed by a dallop of sour cream. Garnish with the cilantro sprigs. Serve immediately.

Serves 6.

Submitted by Melissa Oldham