Spicy Italian-Style Chicken Skewers made with roasted peppers, fresh herbs, and served with a Sutter Home Moscato wine!
Moscato is a delicious white that has been growing in popularity, and is often served as an aperitif or dessert wine because of its light, sweet flavor. But don’t limit it to those occasions!
This moscato is smooth with strawberry, ripe honeydew and melon flavors, with a bouquet of rose, lychee fruit and peaches. It pairs perfectly with these Spicy Italian-Style Chicken Skewers.
This recipe is courtesy of Host the Toast and Sutter Home.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
- 1-1/2 cups roasted red peppers, sliced
- 5 hot cherry peppers, stemmed and seeded, or to taste
- 1 cup packed fresh basil leaves, plus more to serve
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- Extra virgin olive oil, as needed
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into chunks
- 1 large red onion, cut into wedges
- 1 large red pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into chunks
- Lemon wedges, to serve
- Chilled Sutter Home Moscato, to serve
Preparation
- 1 In the bowl of a food processor, combine the toasted pine nuts, roasted red peppers, hot cherry peppers, basil, garlic, Parmesan, and paprika. Process until well-combined. Stream in olive oil until the pesto reaches a thin enough consistency to coat the chicken as a marinade. Season with salt and pepper and adjust ingredients as needed. I like to include extra hot cherry peppers so that that fiery flavor shines through in the skewers, but you should add to your own tastes. Transfer half of the pesto to a large freezer bag and reserve the rest for later.
- 2 Add the chopped chicken thighs to the freezer bag of pesto. Seal, then use your hand to massage the pesto all over the chicken thighs to ensure that they are evenly coated. Refrigerate for at least an hour. Preheat an outdoor grill to medium-high heat. Make sure it is clean and well oiled so the chicken doesn’t stick.
- 3 Thread the chicken cubes, red onion, and red pepper onto metal skewers. If using wooden skewers, be sure to pre-soak them in water first for at least an hour to prevent them from catching fire. Brush the chicken with the reserved pesto.
- 4 Grill until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F, about 4-5 minutes per side. Serve warm with basil, lemon wedges, and chilled Sutter Home Moscato.
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