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Take advantage of the fruits and herbs of summer with this recipe in which chicken leg quarters are stuffed with fresh basil leaves and marinated in favorite Asian ingredients: lemon grass, soy sauce and five-spice powder. The chicken legs are grilled or broiled, served with cantaloupe slices and drizzled with a rice vinegar, brown sugar and five-spice powder dressing. Serve this low calorie dish with sticky rice, snap peas and sorbet for dessert.

Basil and Five-Spice Infused Chicken Legs with Cantaloupe Salad

14 chicken leg quarters
16 basil leaves

For Marinade:
1 tablespoon five-spice powder
1 stalk lemon grass, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons water

For Cantaloupe Salad:
1/2 cantaloupe, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon five-spice powder
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
12 basil leaves, slivered

1. Lift the skin on leg quarters and press 4 basil leaves under each. Place chicken in plastic bag that seals.
2. In blender, mix 1 tablespoon five-spice powder, lemon grass, soy sauce, vegetable oil and water. Puree until smooth. Pour mixture into plastic bag with chicken; seal and shake until chicken is coated. Refrigerate at least 1 hour, or up to 24 hours.
3. When ready to cook, prepare coals for grill, or preheat gas grill. Place chicken on grill over medium heat and cook, turning, until firm and cooked thoroughly, about 10 - 15 minutes per side.
4. While chicken is cooking, prepare salad by whisking together in medium bowl 1/2 teaspoon five-spice powder, rice vinegar, 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Set aside. Arrange cantaloupe slices on serving plates or platter. Drizzle salad dressing over cantaloupe; sprinkle with slivered basil leaves. Place chicken legs next to salad to serve.

Makes 6 servings.

Cooking Tip: Five-spice powder, a spice used extensively in Southern Chinese and Vietnamese cooking, is a rich blend of five single spices, mixed together to stimulate simultaneously all taste sensations: sweet, sour, bitter, pungent and salty. Now sold pre-packaged and pre-blended at most grocery stores, five-spice powder is becoming more familiar to American home cooks who want to add a strong flavor to meats like chicken.

Nutritional Information, Per Serving: 370 calories; 10 g carbohydrate; 22 g fat; 5 g saturated fat

Recipe and photograph provided courtesy of the National Chicken Council. Used with permission.