Mediterranean Chicken

For my birthday a few years ago, Robert gave me a copy of The Joy of Cooking.  If you are new to cooking or are beginning to build your cooking library or just have never heard of this book you need to buy it.  It is the Bible for all things cooking related.  And like the Bible it is huge, but don’t let the size of the book scare you away.  It is chocked full of great information and recipes.  It goes into details about how to use the techniques described in each recipe and also provides tips about selecting ingredients and more.  I love it.

The recipe I use the most from this blessed cookbook is Mediterranean Chicken.  I love this recipe for several reasons.  One, it’s super easy to make and is done in about 35 minutes including prep and cooking time.  Two, as Robert and I have tried to eat healthier we tend to eat a lot of chicken and this recipe provides enough distinct flavor that it helps avoid monotony.  Three, it just tastes good.  I’ve changed some of the quantities of the ingredients some to match our tastes and preferences, feel free to do the same.

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Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts

12 sun dried tomatoes (packed in oil in a jar), thinly sliced

5 kalamata olives, finely chopped

2 Tbsp fresh basil, thinly sliced

3 Tbsp of Olive Oil

Kosher salt

Black Pepper

Aluminum Foil

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Slice the tomatoes and basil into thin slivers and place in a small bowl.  Finely chop the olives and add to the bowl along with 3 Tbsp of olive oil.  Stir to blend.  When finished, your relish mixture should look like this:

Tear aluminum foil into four 10-12 inch rectangular pieces (large enough to encompass one chicken breast into a foil packet) and spray one side of each foil piece with PAM or brush with olive oil.  Trim your chicken breasts as desired and salt and pepper both sides.  Place chicken breast in the middle on one of the foil sections.  Spoon about a quarter of the relish onto the top of the chicken breast.

Then, take sides of foil piece and fold into a foil packet firmly sealing the edges of the packet but not suctioning in the chicken breast.  (Keep it a bit loose)  Repeat the process with all three remaining chicken breasts and place on a baking sheet.

Place sheet into oven and bake for 20 minutes. (At this point foil packets should be “puffed” up)  Remove from oven and let sit, unopened for about 5 minutes to prevent being burned by steam when opening foil packets.  Remove chicken breasts from packets and serve with relish remaining on top.  I like to serve this with fresh green vegetables, usually asparagus or green beans, and either cous cous or wild rice.  I hope you enjoy this dish as much as we do!

Source: Adapted from The Joy of Cooking