Try this chicken dish once, and you’ll want to grow mint to make it again and again

Do you grow fresh herbs in your garden or landscape? I’m lucky enough to have a lovely Tuscan rosemary shrub growing outside my front door. My Genovese basil loves our hot days and sunshine but needs deadheading often in its container in my patio garden and likes afternoon shade.

Drought-tolerant oregano and thyme are tough enough to survive with little attention, although I’ve found that both also prosper with afternoon shade.

But mint? Much as I love it, I hadn’t had much success with spearmint — a necessary ingredient in many of my favorite Mediterranean dishes — until recently in Tucson.

When I was growing up in Michigan, we had a chronically drippy faucet — and an immensely aromatic mint bed right beneath it. Even before I was an amateur gardener, I understood that there was a connection between that drippy faucet on the east side of the house and the health of the mint that grew below it. There in its cool, shady spot, it flourished with no attention whatsoever.

My mom used to send me out to clip stems of mint to garnish lemonade, put into salads and, I imagine, to grace the occasional julep. It was one of my favorite chores for her – I loved the sensuality of the task, the cloud of aroma that arose as I brushed the plants seeking out just the perfect stems.

Soon after I moved to Arizona, I picked up a potted spearmint at one of the local garden stores and set it out on the patio with great anticipation, my mouth watering greedily at the thought of all the minty dishes that lay ahead.

Despite my cajoling and careful watering, it was dead in a month.

I tried again.

Same result.

So I set out to investigate how Arizona gardeners grow mint, and I learned the secret that seems to be true for most culinary herbs here: Afternoon shade!

I tried one more time, and this time placed the pot against the west wall of my patio. It gets plenty of sun until about 1 p.m., and then the towering wall shades it against the worst of the afternoon sun. Now my mint’s fragrant signature combines with the honeyed scent of the Arabian jasmine which grows next to it so that watering both in the morning means starting the day in a halo of sensual pleasure.

The mint family is large and boisterous, rambunctious in its members’ desire to spread out. I’ll leave the chocolate, pineapple, lemon and apple mints to others, and I’ll always grow mint in a container. Spearmint is the only mint I want to grow, because of its culinary uses. If you want to grow it too, plan to pick up your plant(s) in October and November.

This chicken dish has lately been the destination of most of my mint, because the mint’s cooling menthol sensation on the palate, combined with the bright flavor of the citrus, tastes just right at the end of a scorching day. Leftovers retain their flavor overnight, so you’ll also have a fine lunch the following day.

Ideally, you’ll use fresh mint in its preparation, but if you don’t have it handy, dried spearmint will do – just reduce it to a single tablespoon instead of the four tablespoons of fresh. Most Middle Eastern grocers here in town sell dried mint, and it’s invariably spearmint.

Chicken thighs with lime and mint

Makes about 4 servings

This easy recipe can be broiled or grilled, depending on what’s easiest for you. I don’t fire up my grill just for the chicken, but if the grill is hot for something else, I grill this chicken and a variety of vegetables alongside. If you broil the chicken, you can run a pan of assorted vegetables tossed in olive oil under the broiler after the chicken is done.

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Ingredients

Zest of 3 limes, removed with a vegetable peeler

6 tablespoons fresh lime juice, from the 3 limes above

1/2 cup olive oil

4 tablespoons finely shredded fresh mint leaves

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon hot chile powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

8 boneless chicken thighs

Lime wedges, for serving

Preparation

In a medium bowl or zip-top gallon bag, combine lime zest, lime juice, olive oil, mint, garlic, chile powder, cumin and salt and pepper. Add chicken thighs and marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes or in the refrigerator for up to 2 hours.

Remove chicken from marinade and set aside. Strain marinade into a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Remove marinade from heat and set aside.

Preheat broiler or grill. Arrange the chicken on a baking sheet to broil, or place chicken directly on the grill grate over indirect heat. Brush the chicken generously with the reserved marinade. Cook, turning as needed to prevent burning and brushing with more marinade, until the chicken is cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the chicken to a platter and discard the marinade.

Scatter more mint leaves over the chicken. Garnish with lime wedges and serve immediately.