Roasted Chicken Thighs with Artichoke Squash Relish and Walnut Tomato Pesto Sauce

OK it's Summer Grilling and chilling time. I have a recipe for you that will make you very fancy the next time you entertain or just want to get dinner onto the table for your family.

Summer time is a time for grilling and relaxing and using the vegetables that are around. Yellow squash is one of my favorites and it can really add color and flavor.

The nice thing about this meal is it can be served room temperature as well as warm. You also have the choice of roasting the chicken in the oven if you don't want to make it on the grill so it's a dish that could be changed up with various seasonal ingredients and customized all year long.

Here we go. Chicken thighs, yes thighs, better taste and so much more forgiving than their white meat counterparts. And they still are cheaper.

Next vegetables are on the order. Here we are using frozen artichoke hearts and fresh yellow squash cut up into triangles. These were roasted and then used to top the dish. During the year you could use any vegetables mushrooms, brussel spouts or pearl onions and peas. Vary it up.

Then there's the base. Roasted Tomato Walnut pesto sauce. This is the stuff. Walnuts, basil, cheese, tomatoes garlic, and olive oil. Whipped into a fantastic pesto it really makes the flavor of this dish over the top.

Tomato and Walnut Pesto

1 1/2 pint summer fresh grape tomatoes
1 cup bunch of fresh basil
1 cup of oven roasted walnuts
3/4 cups grated Parmesan cheese
Worcestershire sauce
3 cloves minced garlic
Italian Herb salt
Good quality Olive Oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice



Place tomatoes on a baking tray toss with olive oil and Italian herb salt and roast for 30 mins in a 350 degree oven,
Place cheese, the tomatoes, walnuts,  basil leaves, two big shakes of worcestershire, garlic, and lemon juice in a small food processor and process adding oil slowly about 1/2 cup till a thick paste forms, add water a bit at a time till the sauce is loose and spoonable.  Taste and add salt till it's nicely salted.

Chicken

12 Chicken thighs

Place chicken in a zip lock bag and add olive oil Italian herbs salt and lemon pepper. Allow to marinate about 3 to 4 hours.

Place on a baking sheet and roast in a 350 degree oven for about 45 mins or grill till done,

Vegetables:

Take vegetables of your choice. Here I used 1 bag of frozen artichokes and 2 small yellow squash chopped into wedges. one small red onion chopped into wedges. Toss with olive oil and
Italian season salt and roast for 350 till soft and caramelized. Remove from oven toss with chives

Assembly:

Spoon the pesto onto the bottom of a large serving platter. Shingle chicken onto the platter on top of the sauce. Mound vegetables over the chicken and dress with the parsley.