Cherry Tomato and Balsamic Chicken
I told you I was on a tomato kick! How can you resist when you see full on displays in the grocery store of beautiful red, yellow, green, and orange tomatoes? It is one of the most beautiful rainbows to behold! Okay, so I am getting a little poetic about tomatoes. This dish has two parts, chicken that is marinated in balsamic vinegar and then baked in sweet cherry tomatoes. For me, it the marriage of two perfect ingredients. This is a great way to let sun set on the summer!
Cherry Tomato and Balsamic Chicken
ingredients
balsamic marinade
2 boneless skinless chicken breast (about 1 1/4 lb)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c soy sauce
1/2 c balsamic vinegar
1/4 c olive oil
1 Tbsp honey
1 tsp basil
cherry tomatoes
2 c cherry tomatoes, halved
1/3 c red onion, minced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt
pepper
instructions
marinade
Whisk together all the ingredients for the marinade in a bowl.
Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Then place into a plastic ziploc bag. Pour the marinade into the bag and close it. Massage the liquid around making sure the chicken is coated. Then place the chicken in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
cherry tomato mixture
Using the same bowl as the marinade add the cherry tomatoes, red onion, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, the balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. Mix together and set aside. If you aren't cooking the chicken at that time, cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator.
putting it together
Heat a grill pan over medium- high heat. Add a tablespoon of olive oil. When you start to smell the olive oil that usually means its getting hot. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Take the chicken out of the refrigerator. Place on the hot grill pan and make sure not to crowd the pan. Grill the chicken on each side about 7 minutes or however long it takes to get a grill mark. Try not to move the pieces around, just flipping once.
In a pyrex or ceramic dish place the pieces of grilled chicken. Then add the tomato mixture to the top. Pour a small amount of balsamic vinegar in the bottom of the dish, just enough to give a tiny bit of liquid.
Put the chicken into the oven for about 12 minutes or until you see the tomatoes start to blister.