Chicken Skewers & Tuscan Bread Salad

Serves 6 | 40 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 2 zucchini

• 2 mixed-color bell peppers

• 4 x 5-oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts

• 12 fresh bay leaves

• 2 lemons

• 8 slices of bacon

• 2 1/2 lbs ripe mixed-color tomatoes

  Grill: Easy Grilling, Big Flavor Jamie Oliver

• 1 large loaf of ciabatta

• 1 big bunch of basil (about 2 oz) 2/3 cup ricotta cheese

• DIRECTIONS

1. Light the grill (pages 16–19). To make the skewers, chop the zucchini, peppers and chicken into scant 1-inch chunks, discarding the pepper seeds and stems. Add to a large bowl with the bay. Finely grate in the zest of 1 lemon and squeeze in the juice, then halve the remaining lemon, thinly slice half of it and add to the bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a pinch each of sea salt and black pepper and toss together well.

2. Load everything up onto skewers, alternating as you go, and weaving the bacon in between it all, being mindful not to pack it on too tightly.

3. Cook the skewers on the hot zone for 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden and cooked through, turning and spritzing regularly with oil and vinegar, and moving to the medium or cool zones if they’re coloring too quickly. Once done, transfer to a platter and squeeze on the remaining lemon juice.

4. Reserving 2 larger tomatoes, place the rest on the medium zone for 5 minutes, or until blistered and softened, turning once, then transfer to a board. Halve the ciabatta lengthwise and crisp up on the cool zone.

5. Halve the reserved tomatoes and grate them cut side down into a serving bowl, discarding the skin. Add 1 teaspoon of red wine vinegar and 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and season to perfection. Pick and add the basil.

6. Roughly pinch off and discard the skins of the grilled tomatoes, chop the toasted bread, and toss both into the dressing. Spoon in the ricotta and gently mix together. To serve, run a sharp knife down the length of the skewers, so everything tumbles onto the platter, and get stuck in.

Excerpted from Grill by Jamie Oliver published by Appetite © Jamie Oliver Enterprises Limited (2026 Grill). Recipe photography: © David Loftus, 2026. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.

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