Roast Chicken - Luscious Garlic-Salt-Rosemary Marinade

It's the fourth day of sun, maybe the fifth. I'm so giddy that summer's finally arrived, I'm losing count.

With no time to waste, I've dusted off the grill and whipped up a quick marinade for chicken.

A chile-fennel-infused salt rub from Vancouver's Meat & Bread became the base, with the addition of six to eight cloves of garlic. Who's counting?

Then more chile and fresh rosemary from the garden. With a few quick turns in my volcanic stone molcajete a luscious fragrant paste was revealed. A hit of olive oil aids in making it a lovely cohesive mass.

I love using chicken legs with the back attached, separating one from the other and slathering the meat with the marinade. (Cooking Tip: I like to slash the fattest part of the legs, which allows not only the marinade to penetrate the flesh, but also quickens cooking time).

Let the chicken marinate for at least an hour.

Heat up your grill to at least 400 and let the magic begin.

Turning a few times, this quick dish takes about 20 minutes tops to cook.

A Caesar salad is the perfect accompaniment for this herbaceous, salty, garlicky wonder made with a house dressing (ratio of 1 egg yolk to 1/2 cup of olive oil, plus garlic, anchovies, a shot of Worcestershire sauce, cracked pepper, salt and lemon juice).

The salad gets a turn of cracked pepper and flakes of freshly grated Parmesan, and dinner is served.

Some field notes: Any cut of chicken will work for this marinade but chicken legs with the back attached is one of the most economical cuts around and is full of flavour with all those bones.

If you don't own a mortar and pestle, a sharp chef's knife will create the same paste using a technique of mashing and chopping the ingredients on a cutting board.

The marinade was created totally on the fly and I encourage you to do the same. You can substitute tarragon, basil, oregano or marjoram for the rosemary, throw in lemon zest, more or less garlic, and eliminate fennel all together. Just let the summer heat inspire you.