Make the most of pungent cilantro with these grilled chicken breasts

Chad Gunn isn’t one of those home cooks who thinks cilantro tastes like soap.

Rather, he loves the stuff for its fresh and lively flavor. For him, the more cilantro, the better.

“I know people don’t like it. It makes no sense to me. You can never have enough cilantro, in my opinion,” said Gunn, who puts the pungent herb front and center in a recipe he developed for the grill.

Gunn created his Lime-Cilantro Grilled Chicken Breasts with Avocado-Mango after seeing a similar recipe featuring papaya. He loves the tropical tastes of avocado, lime and mango, so he made some adaptations.

Gunn’s been making his go-to grilled cilantro chicken for about 10 years now, marinating the meat overnight – or, at least for a couple of hours.

“The longer, the better,” he said. “It makes the chicken really moist.”

Gunn uses limeade, “which doesn’t ‘cook’ the chicken like lime juice would.” The sugar in the concentrate lends a hint of sweetness to the dish – “and it gives you really good char marks, too,” Gunn said, slipping through his sliding glass door to flip the chicken breasts.

The balcony at his north Spokane apartment is small. It’s just big enough to hold a grill and, when Gunn feels like he’s got a green thumb, a few potted herb plants. He’s had trouble growing his own cilantro.

But he’s had good luck with tomatoes. So has his mom, who has a large vegetable garden in east Spokane. Gunn usually gets to share in her bounty.

He likes to roast, freeze and save them for later – that is, if he doesn’t use them in one of his favorite pasta dishes first. His Bacon and Tomato Pasta features heavy cream and fresh basil along with its key ingredients. Besides the bacon, one of the reasons Gunn likes the dish is “it uses up tomatoes more than anything.”

He didn’t always enjoy cooking. It’s something he’s come to love in the past decade or so. When he started, he followed instructions to a T. “I measured everything,” he said.

Now that he’s built up his skills and confidence, “I tend to wing it when I cook,” Gunn said. “I’m not one to follow the book when I cook. Now, it’s my one thing I love to do that totally relaxes me.”

Well, cooking and golf.

Gunn, 48, is a golf professional at Esmeralda Golf Course. He’s worked at the public course for 19 years, running the cash register and giving golf lessons. He was on the golf team at Spokane’s Lewis and Clark High School, where he graduated in 1986.

Today, his two children, ages 16 and 19, split their time between his apartment and their mom’s place. His daughter “loves to help me cook,” he said. “My son has no interest whatsoever. But he sure loves to eat (what we make).”

Gunn gravitates toward Mexican food and chicken. “I do a lot of chicken.”

He’s been to Cabo a couple of times and visited Cancun once – “when I was younger, before I started cooking. I wish I could afford to go more.”

Gunn grills year round and likes to cook enough to have leftovers. He’ll often make next-day tostadas with extra shredded chicken.

He particularly likes his grilled chicken dish – not just for the cilantro – but because “it’s fresh, and it comes together fast. You prep the chicken the night before, and you can make the salsa while it grills.”

His tip for peeling mangoes: cut the fruit in half lengthwise, then place the edge of the mango – where the skin meets the flesh – against the rim of a water glass. Apply a little pressure and push the mango down the side of the glass so that the skin slices off in one piece outside the glass and the fruit falls into the glass.

Gunn makes his mango salsa and cilantro chicken about once a month. And, in late summer, “when the tomatoes are coming out of our ears,” he makes his bacon pasta about four or five times.

He often posts his creations on Instagram @chg68, where he describes himself as “lover of good food, great coffee, the ocean, wonderful company. Throw in a little golf and hockey too!”

Lime-Cilantro Grilled Chicken Breasts with Avocado-Mango

From Chad Gunn of Spokane

For the chicken:

½ cup chopped cilantro leaves

¼ cup limeade concentrate

4 tablespoons white wine, or apple cider vinegar

¼ cup chopped onion (sweet, white, yellow … whatever you have on hand)

3 tablespoons minced garlic

1 tablespoon dried oregano

½ tablespoon salt

½ tablespoon fresh ground black pepper

½ tablespoon ground cumin

1 cup olive oil

6 boneless chicken breasts

For the salsa:

2 avocados, pitted and diced

2 mangoes, peeled and diced

¼ cup diced red bell pepper

2 scallions, sliced

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

Juice of ½ lime

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt to taste

Prepare the chicken: Place cilantro, limeade concentrate, vinegar, onion, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper and cumin in a bowl. Gradually add oil, stirring with a whisk as you go. Place chicken in a gallon zip-top bag and add marinade. Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight, turning often.

Make the salsa: Put avocado, mango, bell pepper, scallions, cilantro and red pepper flakes in a medium mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together lime juice and oil. Pour over avocado mixture. Fold gently, seasoning with salt. (Refrigerate if not using soon.)

Make the chicken: Heat grill. Remove chicken from the marinade, draining any excess liquid. Grill for 5-6 minutes per side (or until cooked completely).

Serve: Plate chicken with salsa, spooning it over top or on the side.

Note: You can blend all of the marinade ingredients in a blender if you wish, but Gunn likes to mix it by hand to leave the texture.

Yield: 6 servings

Bacon and Tomato Pasta

From Chad Gunn of Spokane

½ pound bacon, cut into small pieces

1 cup sweet, yellow onion, chopped

2 cups fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

1 cup fresh basil, chopped

1 tablespoon salt

1 pound dried pasta, such as penne

½ cup heavy cream

Fresh basil for garnish

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Sauté bacon in a skillet over medium heat until done, but not crisp. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until onion is soft, about 5 minutes.

Combine tomatoes and ½ cup of chopped basil in a food processor or blender and coarsely puree. Add to the bacon-onion mixture. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 25-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, boil water in a large pot. Stir in salt. Add pasta and cook until tender, but still firm. Drain the pasta.

Drizzle heavy cream into tomato-bacon mixture, and add remaining ½ cup of chopped basil. Heat mixture through, then toss with pasta. Garnish with basil and serve. Top with Parmesan cheese, if desired.