Time-crunched? Make 'grilled chicken express' with salsa

Chef Daisy Martinez makes a simple Latin-inspired meal with the microwave

Video: Ease kitchen duty with marinated grilled chicken

Closed captioning of: Ease kitchen duty with marinated grilled chicken

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>>> this morning in "today's" kitchen, summer entertaining, easy as 1-2-3. executive chef, great to see you. i love this recipe you're making because it's super, super easy as are a lot of your recipes.

>> in the summer, who needs to spend time in the kitchen, especially if you're a mom.

>> in the heat.

>> we do latina moms and family but for everybody.

>> this is a whole cut chicken .

>> you can do part. you can combine commercially or your own, salt, pepper, garlic powder , cumin.

>> on everything.

>> i use it all the time.

>> i like to marinate the chicken . can you do that overnight. a little white vinegar, adobe, forget about it.

>> here is the thing, stand by the grill, sweating and sweating and waiting. what's worse than biting into a piece of chicken raw. so instead you put it in the microwave. poach it right in the marinade. take it out and drain it like this. then basically the chicken is already poached.

>> put it on the grill.

>> now brown and grcrisp it on the grill.

>> when i put in the microwave, i'm afraid it will be rubbery.

>> we're poaching in the marinade so the meat is well protected.

>> going here.

>> crisp that up.

>> what's this?

>> chimy churry. scallions, jalapenoios for heat, cilantro, garlic, lime juice. some cheese. parmesan or pecorino. a pretty little sprinkle of olive oil and water to thin that out.

>> reporter: perfect

>> perfect.

>> you want to thin that out. we're just going to do that.

>> i imagine this is a sauce you can use on a lot of recipes, too.

>> on meat, fish, pork, grilled pork chops .

>> delicious. i bet.

>> with tortilla chips . here we have basically our finished chicken . i want you to taste this sauce.

>> i know it's going to be delicious.

>> she's going for the chicken .

>> i have to get the whole effect.

>> yummy. a little salty purchase it's great. perfectly cooked as you said. just right. tender.

>> i have a beautiful corn and fennel. you can use fava beans for this when they are in season. i have edamame here.

>> i love it.

>> she's a typical latino, makes me eat everything.

>> this is wonderful, a great picnic salad. do this the night before. not sweating in the kitchen when the sun comes up and it gets hot in the kitchen.

>> tell me about amazing desert.

>> i was on the beach with my family and the sun was setting. if you've been to puerto rico . on the beach when the sun sets all these beautiful colors. passion fruit , mango, two of my favorite puerto rican flavor.

>> i'll try without prodding me. get in there.

>> isn't that wonderful?

>> delicious.

>> easy to make.

>> fabulous, dump it, stir it, put anytime in the frig and forget. gelatin, passion fruit purees.

>> find easy.

>> frozen food. mango.

>> flip the chicken .

>> turn my chicken for me.

>> i'm going to start doing this in the microwave now. you taught me something new.

>> afraid of it in the center. that's yucky. poach it gently. if you don't have a microwave, i can't imagine. simmer in a saute pan with a lid and good to go.

>> daisy martinez teaching us the shortcuts today. thank you so much. recipes on the website, today.com.

>>> coming up next hot chelle rae gets the crowd moving again but first this is

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TODAY recipes

updated 7/20/2012 5:06:29 PM ET

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As the executive chef of Mamiverse.com, Daisy Martinez is a busy mother of four who sometimes turns to her microwave for a helping hand with dinner. Here, Daisy offers up her recipe for "express" chicken — a dish that makes use of the microwave for faster grilling. On the side, make a sweet corn, edamame and fennel salad, and a passion fruit and mango panna cotta with rasberry sauce.

Recipe: Grilled chicken express with aji verde (on this page) Recipe: Sweet corn, edamame and fennel salad (on this page) Recipe: Passion fruit and mango panna cotta with raspberry sauce (on this page)

Recipe: Grilled chicken express with aji verde

Courtesy of Daisy Martinez

Ingredients

For chicken:
5 pounds chicken legs and thighs (about 20 pieces)
1/4 cup dry adobo, homemade or store-bought
2 cups white or cider vinegar
For aji verde:
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup sliced scallions
3 jalapeños coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons grated Cotija cheese
2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lime
Kosher or fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Preparation

For chicken:

1. Put the chicken in the largest bowl you have. If all the chicken doesn't fit very comfortably, season it in batches. Sprinkle the adobo over the chicken and toss well to coat. Pour the vinegar over the chicken and toss well again. Let stand at room temperature for 1 ½ hours or refrigerate for up to overnight. Either way, toss it several times as it marinates.

2. Put half of the chicken pieces in a large heatproof bowl that fits in your microwave. Pour half the marinade over the chicken. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and cook at high power for 10 minutes. Remove the plastic wrap — handle the bowl carefully, it will be hot — and move the chicken around so it cooks evenly. Re-cover the bowl and cook until the chicken is almost completely cooked through, about 10 minutes. Repeat with the remaining chicken and marinade. Once the chicken is microwaved, it should be cooked within an hour.

3. Heat a gas grill to medium or build a charcoal fire and wait for the coals to be covered with fine gray ash. Cook the chicken, turning it often, until golden, even charred in spots, about 10 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Variation:

Just as you customize your adobo, you can customize the acidic part of this marinade. Use all white or all cider vinegar or mix the two. Or substitute citrus juice — orange, lemon and/or lime — for part or all of the vinegar.

For aji verde:

Put the cilantro, scallions, jalapenos, cheese and garlic in the work bowl of a food processor and process until very finely chopped. With the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil.

Squeeze in the lime juice and then enough water to make a sauce with the consistency of a thick milkshake. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

The sauce will keep refrigerated a few days, but bring to room temperature before serving.

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Recipe: Sweet corn, edamame and fennel salad

Courtesy of Daisy Martinez

Ingredients

10 ears corn, shucked and all silk removed
2 1/2 to 3 pounds freshly cooked and shelled, or defrosted frozen shelled edamame
1/2 large bulb fennel, outer layer peeled, halved, core removed, cut into 1/4-inch dice (about 1/2 cup)
2 tablespoons chopped fennel fronds
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher or fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Preparation

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the corn and cook until tender-firm, about 5 minutes. Drain and let stand until cool enough to handle. Slice the kernels off the cobs.

2. Toss the corn, edamame, fennel, fennel fronds, and olive oil together in a bowl until the vegetables are coated with oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve right away, or let stand at room temperature for up to 1 hour.

Serving Size

Makes 12 servings

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Recipe: Passion fruit and mango panna cotta with raspberry sauce

Courtesy of Daisy Martinez

Ingredients

For the panna cotta:
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon gelatin
2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 cup mango puree
1/2 cup passion fruit puree
2 cups heavy cream
For the rasberry sauce:
One 10-ounce bag frozen raspberries
2 to 3 tablespoons sugar
Juice of half a lime, or as needed

Preparation

For the panna cotta:

1. Heat 3/4 cup water and the sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar is dissolved and the syrup is boiling. Remove from the heat.

2. Sprinkle the gelatin over ¼ cup cool water in a small bowl. Let stand until softened, then stir the gelatin mixture into the sugar syrup until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Cool to room temperature.

3. Stir the mango puree, passion fruit puree and heavy cream together in a large bowl. Stir in the gelatin mixture thoroughly. Divide the mixture among eight 6-ounce ramekins or custard cups. Set the filled cups on a tray, cover them all with a single sheet of plastic wrap and chill until completely set, at least 4 hours. The panna cotta may be made up to a day in advance.

For the sauce:

1. Heat the raspberries, sugar and ¼ cup water in a small saucepan until simmering and the sugar is dissolved. Pass the mixture through a fine sieve into a small bowl, scraping the fruit with the back of a spoon to pass as much sauce through while keeping the seeds and pulp behind. Stir in lime juice to taste.

2. To serve, invert each ramekin or custard cup over a dessert plate. Wait a few seconds and the panna cotta will slip right out and onto the plate. Spoon some of the raspberry sauce around each serving and pass the remaining sauce separately.