3 Easy Mediterranean Recipes for Summer Hosting

If you like to host like me, you know that coming up with a menu that’s good AND easy to execute can be a challenge. Enter my summer dinner party menu. Get a free LMNT sample pack with your drink mix purchase at https://DrinkLMNT.com/BrianLagerstrom

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*Mediterranean Summer Menu*
Ingredients:

*For the Chicken Marinade:*
▪8-12 boneless skinless chicken thighs
▪20g (1T + 1 tsp) salt
▪10g (2t) sugar
▪5g (1 ½t) black pepper
▪3g (1 2/3t) dried oregano
▪50g (1/4c) olive oil
▪30g (1/2c) parsley, chopped
▪40g (8-10 cloves) garlic, minced
▪Zest of 2 lemons

*For the Grilled Broccolini Pasta Salad:*
▪150g (2/3 cup) red wine vinegar
▪15g (2t) honey
▪15g (1T) grainy mustard (Maille brand recommended)
▪1 medium shallot, finely diced and rinsed
▪150g (2/3 cup) extra virgin olive oil
▪125g (1 bunch) broccolini, stems trimmed
▪Salt, to taste
▪225g (1/2 lb) bowtie pasta
▪75g (1/2 cup) marinated olives, rough chopped
▪50-75g (1 whole) red bell pepper, diced
▪75g (2/3 cup) grated Parmesan cheese
▪50g (1/4 cup) sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
▪10g (3T) finely chopped parsley

*For the Citrus and Fennel Salad:*
▪6 large oranges
▪2 grapefruits
▪1 fennel bulb, fronds reserved
▪1/4 red onion, thinly shaved
▪3-4T chopped roasted pistachios
▪Olive oil, for dressing
▪1-2 tbsp champagne vinegar or lemon juice
▪Flaky salt

*Instructions:*
*For the Chicken:*
1. Combine salt, sugar, black pepper, oregano, olive oil, parsley, garlic, and lemon zest in a medium bowl. Add the chicken thighs and toss to coat evenly. Marinate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 3-5 hours in the refrigerator.
2. Preheat the grill to 550°F (288°C). Lightly oil the grates. Place marinated chicken thighs on the grill over high heat. Grill until well-marked, about 4 minutes per side. Let rest.

*For the Grilled Broccolini Pasta Salad:*
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the bowtie pasta according to package instructions until just past al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together red wine vinegar, honey, mustard, and olive oil. Add rinsed shallot or onion.
3. Toss broccolini with olive oil and salt, then grill alongside chicken for about 2-3 minutes per side until charred but still crisp. Chop into ½ inch lengths.
4. Combine cooked pasta, dressing, grilled broccolini, olives, bell pepper, sun-dried tomatoes, Parmesan, and parsley in a large bowl. Toss well and hold at room temperature before serving.

*For the Citrus and Fennel Salad:*
1. Supreme oranges and grapefruits by removing all peel and pith, then segmenting the fruits.
2. Thinly shave the fennel bulb on a mandoline, stopping before the core. Pick some of the fronds to use for garnish.
3. Arrange citrus segments in a serving dish. Top with shaved fennel, red onion, and pistachios.
4. Dress the salad with olive oil, vinegar or lemon juice, and sprinkle with flaky salt.

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CHAPTERS:
0:00 Marinating the chicken
1:19 Pasta salad dressing
2:24 Grilling the broccolini and chicken
4:12 Pasta salad prep
5:05 Stay hydrated
6:06 Finishing the pasta salad
7:04 Citrus and fennel salad
9:55 plate up and tasting

#summermenu #mediterraneanrecipes

hey what’s up today I’m going to show you guys an easy to execute menu that’s perfect for hosting friends during those summer months when all you want to do is eat outside and drink white wine all three of these dishes are Mediterranean is so they’re simple rustic delicious and pretty healthy this menu is my go-to move when I’m hosting a last minute casual get together of friends and I want to impress them but without breaking a sweat to get started I need 8 to 12 boneless skinless chicken thighs I’d say plan on two thighs per person if you’re not serving snacks or one per person if you’re going to be nohing on a cheeseboard and dip before dinner to rip these things I’m going to scoot them over to a medium Bowl then give them a simple but effective marinade for that I’ll add in 20 G of salt 10 g of sugar 5 G black pepper 3 G dried oregano 50 g of olive oil 30 G of chopped parsley 40 G of minced garlic which is about 8 to 10 cloves push through my press then lastly I’ll grab two lemons in my microp plane and rip off the zest for marinades I prefer to use lemon zest over lemon juice because zest brings the citrusy aroma of a lemon without the acidity even a little bit of lemon juice here makes this chicken perceivably tart in a bad way once the zest is in the bowl I’ll jump in with my hands and toss everything together I just want to make sure that the marinade is homogeneous and the chicken is evenly coated once it is I’ll move this chicken over to my fridge to marinate for at least 30 minutes while I make my grilled broccolini pasta salad for that I’ll drop a 4q pot full of water on the stove and bring it up to a boil over high heat now let’s make the pasta salad dressing for that into a bowl I’ll combine 150 g of red wine vinegar with a 3 second squeezer of Honey or about 15 G then 15 G of grainy mustard I highly recommend the my brand by the way for some reason this brand emulsifies vinegrets so much better than the other grainy mustards that I’ve tried it’s like the mustard seeds have more of that mucilage thing in them that helps hold oil and water together next I’ll grab one shallot or a little bit of red onion and I’ll give it my smallest dice then to avoid giving my guests raw onion dragon breath I’m going to move this dice shallot over to my sink and rinse it under cold water in a strainer to remove that sulfury edge this makes the consumption of raw onions so much more pleasurable now the rinch shallots will go into the bowl and then lastly I’ll add in 150 g of extra virgin olive oil then I’ll whisk everything together to build a weak Emulsion no need to go crazy here with the whipping we just want the water and the vinegar to be held Loosely together like this next I’ll set this dressing aside grab one bunch of broccolini or about 125 G worth chop off the stems throw them in a bowl then hit them with a long Ziggy of olive oil and a strong pinch of salt now a quick toss toss to get the broccolini coated then I’m going to head outside to my deck where I’ve got my grill ripping at 550f now to start the grilling portion of this menu I’m going to spray the grilled grates with some olive oil pan spray to create a temporary polymer that’s going to act as a non-stick or less stick coating next I’ll drop on my marinated thighs making sure not to drip too much of this marinade oil onto the grill that’ll cause a flare up and make this chicken taste bad flames on a grass Grill look really sick but they usually lead to making whatever you’re cooking taste a little bit like motor oil on on the other side of this Grill I’m going to drop my seasoned up broccolini down and rip it on high heat for about 3 minutes without moving I want to give this broccolini some nice Char without overcooking it so I’ll check back then 3 minutes later when I pop the top and give my broccoli a quick flip you can see this has gotten some really beautiful jar on it from here I’ll give this another 2 minutes or so on the other side and cook it until the texture is Snappy but softened once I’m there I’m going to move this broccolini over to a plate to rest while I finish grilling up my chicken when I flip this chicken over you can see that we’ve got a really nice Sizzle going on resist the urge to flip these before they’ve taken on this aggressive Grillage you really want to get these to the point where the chicken fat is starting to drip out and Sizzle up on the surface this signifies a high internal temperature which for thighs translates into a juicier more tender eating experience under rendered chicken thighs have a bouncy texture and a little bit of a greasy mouth feel after about 4 minutes of ripping these hard on the back side they’re ready to come off the grill and take inside you guys this is exactly the type of non-nonsense grilling that I love to do for party I’m at the grill to add flavor cook a lot of things at once and to be outside not to babysit a bunch of steaks or Burgers until they reach everyone’s optimal internal temp that isn’t fun for me back of the stove I’ll add in a strong pinch of salt then 225 g or a half pound of bow tie pasta I’ll stir that in real quick then cook per package instructions which is roughly 10 to 11 minutes while that cooks I’m going to finish up some knife work first I’ll chop down the grilled broccolini that we just cooked into half inch lengths I really don’t want long fibery stuff in with my pasta next I’ll take 75 G of olives and cut those down into half in chunks I recommend some kind of spicy marinated Olive for this because they’re delicious but if you only have rag green olives those would also suffice the last little bit of knife work here is to take a whole red bell pepper and cut it down into a/ in dice and I would say air on the side of smaller here because giant chunks of raw pepper in the salad would stand out texturally and get in the way of the soft bounciness of the pasta and once we got my bell pepper my olives and my broccoli chopped down I’ll head back to the stove and check my pasta before we get into that I just want to say that I started seeing a new doctor recently and I kid you not he recommended that I start drinking element to stay hydrated and note he’s not aware that I currently drink element or that they’re the sponsor of this video he just wanted me to start using it because in his opinion it’s the most balanced electrolyte mix available luckily I’ve already been drinking element to keep from getting headaches and fatigue or just to generally keep up my electrolytes after an intense workout the blend of electrolytes in this element drink mix was created based on Research that shows optimal Health outcomes actually happened at sodium levels two or three times the standard government recommendation so in each stick you’re getting a balanced dose of sodium magnesium and pottassium but there’s no sugar artificial colors or other weird ingredients I’ll also mention that it tastes so good that you’re going to want to drink it even if you haven’t worked up a sweat right now you can get a free element sample pack with any drink mix purchase over at drink element.com Brian lagerstrom plus if you’re an element Insider you get early access to the element sparkling water which tastes as dope as it sounds it sounds dope and it tastes dope now I’m going to taste it on camera yum after about 11 minutes this pasta is about 10% past Al Dente and that’s good because in my experience once pasta cools down in the salad it firms up so it’s better to cook it slightly more than less next I’ll drain this pasta water with a strainer then hit it with some cold water to stop the cooking process quickly next the cooked pasta goes into the Bowl along with my dressing and all of the chopped up veggies then I’ll top with 75 G of grated parm preferably not feather shred because that stuff gets pasty in this much dressing lastly I’ll add in 50 g of chopped sundried tomatoes 10 G of finely chopped parsley then I’ll jump into the bowl and fold everything together until it’s well dressed shout out to oil packed sundried Tomatoes by the way they’re sweet Savory meaty and make everything that they touch taste like a pepperoni pizza once I got this pasta salad tossed up I’m going to let it marinate for 15 to 30 minutes or until it’s party time by the way throwing this in the fridge is not a good idea because it’ll firm up the pasta a little bit too much now the last little bit of prep for this whole meal is a refreshing bright citrus salad to make it I’ll start with six large oranges two grapefruits one fennel bulb and a/ quarter of a red onion I’ll start by removing the peel from all of the Citrus that’ll mean taking off the top and the bottom real quick then I’ll flip this Citrus upright then using a pairing knife I’m going to cut the peel off from top to bottom while rounding around the middle I’ll rotate that 2 in or so then I’ll repeat the same move by slipping my knife between the fruit and the skin and once this orange is all clean cleaned up I’m going to use my pairing knife yet again to suprem out the segments for that I’ll make a vertical incision on one side of the natural segment all the way down to the core then I’ll do the same thing on the other side cutting down until I cut through the previous slice this is going to separate the whole segment from the core and give me a nice clean Supreme I’ll repeat that suprem maneuver for the other six oranges and mention that this is by far the most labor intensive part of this whole menu but for me serving people prepared Citrus is an act of love and something worth doing it’s it’s a very luxurious eating experience next I’ll repeat the peel removal for my two grapefruits then I’ll suprem those out next I’m going to grab my Bulba fennel then cut off the frondi top have it and shave it thinly on my mandolin oh and be careful when you get down to the core of this fennel because it can get stuck on the blade I’d say stop there and save the rest of this bulb for something else and once I’ve got my fennel shaved into pretty ribbons like this I’m going to grab the frondi top and pick off a few tablespoons of the thin wispy stuff this is going to bring a Greener more intense Anis flavor to the dish plus be a pretty garnish lastly I’ll grab a quarter of a red onion and shave that thinly on the mandolin as well I don’t want a ton of this onion maybe 10 to 15 passes is going to be more than enough then just like we did for the shallots earlier I’m going to quickly rinse these onions to make them much more enjoyable to eat now to build this salad I’m going to drop my drained citrus fruits onto a plate then I’m going to top that with a few strong pinches of my shaved Red Onion then I’ll sprinkle on some shaved fennel on top of those behind that I’ll add on some green fennel frons for color and additional herbiness then to bring some Crunch and just general deliciousness I’m going to sprinkle on about 3 to 4 tablespoons of chopped roasted pistachios to dress this thing I’m going to give the whole platter a generous squiggle of bright bitter fresh tasting olive oil then I’ll grab some champagne vinegar or a lemon and drizzle on about 2 tspoons to bring some sharp acidity to cut through the sweetness of the fruit and the fat of the olive oil the last touch is an aggressive hit of flaky salt I prefer flake salt over regular because it provides a distinctive pop of salt but if all you have is kosher or whatever that’ll work totally fine and that is an absolute beauty of a side dish it’s visually stunning and it’s the perfect compliment to the other two dishes that we’ve already made now to serve this I’ll grab my thighs which have been keeping warm in a low oven for the last 20 minutes or so then throw them onto a platter next to the grilled broccolini pasta salad and the insanely vibrant citrus salad you guys this type of cooking makes me so happy it’s simple super tasty and crowd-pleasing plus and this is an important point it is good at room temperature for hours so you can prep stuff at a relaxed paste while you’re hanging out with your friends without worrying about getting it all done at the same time all right let’s taste this stuff first up chicken thigh it’s Herby it’s perfectly grilled and that play between the sugar and the marinade and that bitter lemon zest is is pretty sick now for some citrus salad the salad is just super pretty and it’s super easy to put together too the combination of citrus olive oil pistachios salt and fennel is just so special pasta salad M oh my God this pasta salad is the best thing on this plate and everything else on here is a total Banger I’m not joking this is just so so good I hope you guys try this recipe sometime soon and if you do let me know in the comments how it goes now let’s eat this thing