Balsamic Tomato Chicken
Ingredients
- 1-2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast butterflied or pounded thin
- ½ cup flour
- Garlic powder to taste
- Salt to taste
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic about 6 cloves
- 1 pint grape tomatoes halved lengthwise
- 2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Heat olive oil over medium heat in a heavy pan (cast iron works great).
- Sprinkle chicken with garlic powder and salt, then dredge in flour and shake off excess.
- Add chicken to pan and cook until browned on both sides and cooked through, about 5 minutes per side depending on thickness. Remove from pan.
- Add garlic to pan and cook for about 30 seconds, until fragrant (but don’t let it burn!).
- Add tomatoes and cook until softened and slightly charred.
- Pour in balsamic vinegar, lower heat and cook until reduced and slightly sticky (about 2-3 minutes).
- Add butter and italian seasoning to pan and stir until melted and mixed through.
- Put chicken back into pan to warm.
Notes
If you liked this recipe, you’ll love Italian Dipping Sauce Chicken!
Obligatory fictional backstory
Observant readers may have noticed that Balsamic Tomato Chicken is very similar to other recipes out there that are called Chicken Caprese. Caprese usually refers to something containing tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, basil and mozzarella cheese. A lesser known fact is that Caprese is actually an acronym and stands for Cheese And Balsamic Reduction Extra garlic Some tomatoes End with basil. Yes I know it’s a “P” not a “B” but it’s for aesthetics – the lower case “p” looks like a bottle of balsamic vinegar turned upside down to pour. Anyway, this is not a true caprese because it does not have mozzarella or fresh basil – it’s more of a Pres.
But Chicken Pres just sounds kind of weird – did I misspell Press, referring to the fact that the chicken needs to be rather thin like it got smushed in a press? Is Pres an abbreviation for President? Presidential chicken? It is an election year after all…. Or for pressure? David Bowie chicken? (PRESSURE! PUSHING DOWN ON ME, PUSHING DOWN ON YOU…) So I decided that to avoid confusion, I would simply refer to this as Balsamic Tomato Chicken.
The amount of garlic powder and salt is really up to your own tastes – in case you never noticed I love garlic; my husband said if I ever left him it would be if a garlic bulb somehow came to life and I ran off with it and married it instead, so obviously I would use a lot of garlic powder. Do note that this is the only salt in the recipe too, so season accordingly.
You can use cherry tomatoes instead of grape tomatoes but I find that the grape tomatoes are usually a little sweeter and therefore balance the acidity of the balsamic vinegar out nicely. I would not use large or canned tomatoes for Balsamic Tomato Chicken as they are usually too watery. You have been warned.
I started a garden for the first time this year and I actually have some cherry tomatoes! Here’s the first harvest:
The grape tomatoes aren’t ripe yet. I ended up using store bought grape tomatoes because I wanted to save the garden fresh cherry tomatoes for a new vegetarian recipe I’m trying – if it works out, you’ll see it here soon! I am beyond excited about how well this garden is working out because I typically kill everything green. Don’t believe me? I killed mint. I killed sage. I killed a cactus. Yup. I kill things. Except this year, somehow. Even the mint is still alive! I feel like the goddess Demeter. Grow, little plants, grow!
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