Saying goodbye to my bountiful tomatoes has been terribly hard. It’s like that old school jam “it’s so hard to say goodbye to yesterday.” (Boyz II Men fan for life!) I had at least 6 cups of tomatoes that I had harvested and had a couple tomato-ish recipes on a list to prepare. Fellow food bloggers have raved and blogged about this recipe, and I kept making a mental note to myself to make this recipe.
This is a fantastic weekday dinner dish to prepare. You pan sear the chicken with a little bit of the compound butter, and then saute the tomatoes until they are almost bursting. I found myself eating a couple tomatoes straight from the pan, it’s a good thing I had extra tomatoes to add if needed!
The chicken was quite tender and flavorful paired with the tomato-herb sauce which had such a rich and pleasant taste. For an additional flavor, I deglazed the pan with one of my favorite balsamic vinegars before adding the tomatoes - this really enhanced the dish. I served the chicken breasts over a bed of potato basil puree and a glass of Chardonnay – a perfect summer meal!
Simple, rustic, and delicious.
Chicken Breasts with Tomato-Herb Pan Sauce
Adapted from Bon Appetit - July 2011
Printable Recipe
Ingredients:
2 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
2 to 3 garlic cloves, minced
1 ½ teaspoon fresh oregano
½ teaspoon sweet paprika
2 chicken breasts, skinless and boneless
2 cups cherry tomatoes
1 tablespoon fresh Italian parsley, chopped finely
Preparation:
In a small bowl, combine the butter, garlic, oregano and paprika together until combined. Season compound butter with salt and pepper.
In a large skillet with the 1 tablespoon of the compound butter over medium heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken to skillet, cover and cook until no longer pink in center, about 5 minutes per side.
Spoon compound butter over the chicken as it cooks. When chicken is fully cooked, transfer to a plate. Cover with a tented piece of aluminum foil to keep it warm.
Increase the heat to high on the skillet and add the tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally until they slightly burst and char, about 5 minutes. Using the back of the wooden spoon, softly crush the tomatoes to release juices. Add the rest of the compound butter to the skillet and taste for seasonings. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve chicken breasts with a heavy spoonful of the tomato sauce over chicken. Garnish with chopped parsley.
Potato Basil Puree
Adapted from Barefoot Contessa “How Easy is that?”
Printable Recipe
Ingredients:
2 cups fresh basil leaves, lightly packed
2 pounds large Yukon Gold or white boiling potatoes, peeled and cut in quarters
1 cup half-and-half
¾ cup Parmigianno Reggiano, finely grated, plus extra for serving
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Preparation:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil and prepare a large bowl of ice water. Add the basil leaves to the boiling water and cook for 15 seconds. Remove the basil with a slotted spoon and immediately plunge the leaves into the ice water. Drain and set aside.
Add the potatoes to the same pot of boiling water and bring to boil again. Cook the potatoes until tender, about 20 to 25 minutes. Drain and return to the saucepan and cook over a low heat until any remaining water evaporates.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat the half-and-half and parmigianno cheese until the cream simmers. Place the basil in a food processor fitted with the steel blade and puree. Add the hot cream mixture and process until smooth.
Using a handheld mixer, cream the hot potatoes until they are broken up. Slowly add the hot basil cream, the salt, and pepper and beat until smooth. If the potatoes need to be reheated, keep covered and keep on low heat.
Pour potatoes in a serving bowl, sprinkle with extra Parmesan cheese, season to taste, and serve hot.
Review: Awesome chicken dinner, and definitely a summer fave. I’m so happy that I saved a couple batches of grape tomatoes for this recipe. Thanks to Cook like a Champion, Pink Parsley and an Apple a Day for inspiring me to finally make this dish!
