Wrap Up a Summertime Lunch with Curtis Stone

Chicken Veggie Wraps with Yogurt Caesar Dressing

(Makes 4 servings)

Dressing:

• ¾ cup low-fat Greek yogurt
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 anchovies
• 1 garlic clove

 

Wraps:

• 2 yellow corn cobs, husk removed
• 4 teaspoons. olive oil, divided
• 4 chicken thighs, boneless, skinless (about 1 lb.), fat trimmed
• 4 flour tortillas, lightly toasted on grill
• 3 heads Baby Gem lettuce, leaves separated
• ½ English cucumber, cut into thin strips

In blender, mix yogurt, cheese, lemon juice, Dijon, oil, anchovies, and garlic until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Prepare barbecue for medium-high heat. Coat corn with 2 teaspoons oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill corn, turning occasionally, for 18 minutes or until well charred. Cut kernels off cobs into large bowl.

Meanwhile, coat chicken with 2 teaspoons oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill chicken for 5 to 6 minutes per side or until cooked through. Rest 5 minutes. Thinly slice chicken.

Lay tortillas on a work surface. Top with corn, chicken, lettuce, and cucumber. Drizzle dressing into wrap as desired. Fold bottom third of tortilla over filling and roll up tortilla.

Make-Ahead: Dressing can be made up to 2 days ahead, covered and refrigerated.

Per serving

Calories: 647

Total Fat: 27 g

Saturated Fat: 7 g

Sodium: 967 mg

Carbohydrate: 54 g

Fiber: 5 ½ g

Protein: 46 g

Diabetic Exchanges: 3 starch, 4 lean meat, 1 ½ vegetables, 3 fat

Middle Eastern Wrap

(Makes 8 servings)

• ½ hothouse cucumber, peeled, seeded, diced
• 1 cup low-fat plain yogurt
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon dried mint
• ½ red onion, very thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
• 2 teaspoons sumac
• Hummus (recipe below)
• 4 flatbreads or large pita breads, warmed
• 2 grilled boneless skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced (optional)
• ½ head romaine lettuce, outer green leaves discarded, inner crispy leaves thinly sliced
• 6 radishes, thinly sliced
• 4 ounces feta cheese, coarsely crumbled

In small bowl, create tzatziki sauce by mixing cucumber, yogurt, lemon juice, and mint. Season tzatziki with salt. In another small bowl, toss onions with sumac to coat. Season with salt. Spread hummus over flatbreads or pita. Top with chicken (if using), lettuce, radishes, feta cheese, onion mixture, and tzatziki. Fold up sandwiches and cut in half. Serve immediately.

Hummus

(Makes 2 cups)

• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• 2 cups cooked chickpeas
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon salt to taste
• Juice of 1 lemon (about 3 tablespoons)
• ¼ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 teaspoons (approx.) water

In food processor, mince garlic. Add chickpeas, cilantro, cumin, and ½ teaspoon of salt and blend until a coarse puree forms. Scrape down sides of bowl. With machine running, gradually add lemon juice and sesame oil through feed tube, scraping bowl as needed. Gradually add olive oil, blending until smooth and creamy. Drizzle in water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until desired consistency is achieved.

Per serving

Calories: 330

Total Fat: 13 g

Saturated Fat: 4 g

Sodium: 484 mg

Carbohydrate: 36 g

Fiber: 5 g

Protein: 17.5 g

Diabetic Exchanges: 2 starch, 1 ½ lean meat, 1 vegetable, 2 fat

Simply Summer Recipes from Curtis Stone

In the Stone household, we use any excuse to bring great food and good friends together. I love to entertain and grill outdoors, especially during the summer months when fresh, locally grown produce is at its peak. By choosing the season’s best, you’re almost guaranteed a successful dish. And grilling enhances the flavors of so many fresh vegetables — from corn to zucchini to peppers.

A perfect main-course summer salad brimming with vegetables, Grilled Chicken with Arugula and Zucchini Salad and Lemon-Caper Vinaigrette is one of my favorite ways to put a healthy meal on the dinner table. I like the flavorful, earthy combination of chickpeas and quinoa in Quinoa and Chickpea Salad with Feta, Walnuts, and Parsley. For dessert, toss halved nectarines, peaches, and plums on the grill for a few minutes and top with a dollop of Greek yogurt and a drizzle of honey — just delicious!

 

Grilled Chicken with Arugula and Zucchini Salad and Lemon-Caper Vinaigrette

(Makes 4 servings)

• 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon coarsely chopped drained nonpareil capers
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped pepperoncini
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 teaspoons champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 6 ounces each)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 5 ounces baby arugula (about 8 cups not packed)
• 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
• 2 small, thin zucchini

To make vinaigrette: In medium bowl, whisk shallots, lemon zest, lemon juice, capers, pepperoncini, parsley, and vinegar together. Gradually whisk in extra-virgin olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To cook chicken: Preheat grill for medium-­high heat. Coat chicken with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill chicken 4 minutes per side, or until cooked through and grill marks form. Transfer to cutting board.

To assemble salad: In large bowl, combine arugula and tomatoes. Trim ends of zucchini. One at a time, lay zucchini flat on work surface and, using vegetable peeler and working from stem end to blossom end, shave off long, thin ribbons until you reach seedy center. Turn zucchini around and repeat on second side, then repeat on third and fourth sides. Add ribbons to bowl and discard seedy centers of zucchini.

Using your hands to avoid breaking ribbons, gently toss salad with enough vinaigrette to coat. Season with salt and pepper.

Cut each chicken breast crosswise into thirds. Transfer a cut chicken breast to each dinner plate and heap some salad alongside. Drizzle chicken and salad with remaining vinaigrette and serve immediately.

Make-Ahead: The vinaigrette can be made up to 8 hours ahead, covered, and refrigerated. Let vinaigrette stand at room temperature for 15 minutes and re-whisk before using.

Per serving

• Calories: 342
• Total Fat: 21 g
• Saturated Fat: 3 g
• Sodium: 563 mg
• Carbohydrate: 7 g
• Fiber: 2 g
• Protein: 32 g
• Diabetic Exchanges: 6 meat, 3 fat, 3 vegetable

 

Quinoa and Chickpea Salad with Feta, Walnuts, and Parsley

(Makes 4 servings)

• 1 cup quinoa (preferably red quinoa)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 15-oz can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained, rinsed
• 1/2 English cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeded, and diced
• 1/2 cup diced red bell peppers
• 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted, coarsely chopped
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, thinly sliced
• 2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

Put quinoa in fine-mesh sieve and rinse under cold running water. Set aside to drain well. Heat medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add oil and quinoa and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes, or until quinoa is fragrant and toasted. Add 1 ½ cups water and ½ teaspoon salt and bring to simmer. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 20 minutes, or until quinoa is tender and water has been absorbed. Spread quinoa on baking sheet and let cool, then fluff with fork. Meanwhile, to make vinaigrette: In small bowl, whisk shallots, vinegar, and lemon juice. Gradually whisk in oil.

In large bowl, combine cooled ­quinoa, chickpeas, cucumber, bell peppers, walnuts, green onions, and parsley. Toss with vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper.

Transfer to large platter or divide among four plates. Sprinkle with feta and serve.

Make-Ahead: Quinoa can be cooked up to 1 day ahead, cooled, covered, and refrigerated.

Per serving

• Calories: 476
• Total Fat: 26 g
• Saturated Fat: 5 g
• Sodium: 288 mg
• Carbohydrate: 48 g
• Fiber: 10 g
• Protein: 16 g
• Diabetic Exchanges: 5 fat, 4 starches, 1 meat

Excerpted from What’s for Dinner? by Curtis Stone. Copyright © 2013 by Curtis Stone. Excerpted by permission of Ballantine Books, a division of Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher; photo by Quentin Bacon. 

This article is from the July/August 2017 issue of the Post. Subscribe to the magazine for more art, inspiring stories, fiction, humor, and features from our archives.

Also see Curtis Stone’s Cool-down Recipes for Summer.

Beet, Carrot, and Apple Salad

I particularly recommend this salad in the spring, since some consider beets, like Grandma’s old-fashioned tonic, good to eat to get our systems going after winter’s lethargy. This salad is so colorful and succulent that saying this is loaded with fiber, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients seems almost crass.

Beet, Carrot and Apple Salad
(Makes 4 servings)

Ingredients

• 1 medium beet (or 3/4 cup pre-shredded)
• 2 medium carrots (or 3/4 cup pre-shredded)
• 1 large peeled Granny Smith apple
• ¼ cup walnut halves, chopped
• 3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley or dill or combination
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Directions

1. To shred beet, insert each hand in plastic sandwich bag to avoid staining hands. Peel beet using swivel blade vegetable peeler. Using coarse side of box grater, shred beet to get ¾ cup. Save remaining beet for another use.
2. Shred carrots and apple.
3. Place shredded beets, carrots, and apple in mixing bowl and mix to combine. Add walnuts and green herbs on top of mixed vegetables, and set bowl aside.
4. For dressing, in small bowl whisk together lemon juice and salt until salt dissolves. Add 3-4 grinds of pepper. Whisk in oil. Pour dressing over salad and mix until well combined and evenly dressed.
5. Serve salad within 1 hour of combining with herbs and dressing.