November 28, 2017
This week I wanted to share with you all another favourite that has entered my weeknight cooking regime. We tend to eat a lot of chicken when I’m cooking for just the two of us, and so I’ve been looking for new ways to prepare it to make it a bit more versatile and exciting. So instead of grilling the chicken on the stove top like I would usually do, I opted for trying out baking the chicken instead. I’ve finally worked out how to get our oven started and cooking at a normal temperature (who knows what I was doing wrong before but it was taking three times as long to cook anything), and so I thought I would try out a new recipe to test it out!
As our herbs have been going nuts, I’ve been looking for new ways to incorporate them into basically everything I cook. There’s nothing like fresh herbs in cooking, and I’m so excited that I can use them now with my ample supply! Soon we will have tomatoes and chillis as well as they are growing so well in our little herb garden. But for now, I’ve been trying to use as much mint, basil and parsley as possible. So I decided to try something a little different, and it worked so well that I figured it was worth putting on the blog.
What I love about this recipe is that you don’t need to marinate the chicken beforehand. I am terrible at remembering to do this, and it is usually a deal breaker to me cooking something as I just don’t have the time to wait in the evening when I get home, and I never remember in the morning. This is my one bug bear with using chicken as it usually does need to be marinated to get the best flavour, but I can never be bothered. So I specifically designed this recipe to avoid my pet hate, and I still think it turned out really well. The trick is to pack on the flavour in other ways, and allow them to seep in throughout the cooking process.
If you love traditional italian flavours, you are going to love this chicken. Nothing beats the flavours of tomato and basil together, and this chicken delivers these flavours in a moreish way. What’s more, you can set and forget, and go and do other things with your evening while you wait for the chicken to cook. All you have to do is chuck it in a pan and leave it, then you have a great meal to set on the table come dinner time.
- 500 grams skinless chicken breast, chopped into smaller pieces
- 3 garlic cloves, diced
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp chilli flakes (optional)
- 1/2 punnet cherry tomatoes
- Handful fresh basil, roughly chopped
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped into smaller pieces
- Handful fresh parsley, roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp olive oil
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Preheat the oven to 200C (400F) and line a baking dish with baking paper. Place the chicken in the bottom of the pan, and sprinkle with salt and pepper, dried oregano, dried thyme, chilli flakes, salt and pepper and garlic.
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Place the cherry tomatoes on top of the chicken, ensuring they are spread evenly. Sprinkle the fresh herbs over the top, and pour the olive oil over everything, adding more if desired.
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Place in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the chicken is golden and the tomatoes blistered. Check every 10 minutes or so to prevent overcooking.
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Serve with a fresh salad or steamed vegetables.
I absolutely loved eating this chicken because the flavours were perfect. You honestly didn’t need to marinate it as the tomatoes and herbs seeped into the chicken as it cooked. I also loved biting into the blistered cherry tomatoes to get that amazing burst of flavour throughout the dish. The herbs paired beautifully with the dried herbs, and the combination was a taste sensation!
This meal is perfect for those that don’t have a lot of time to cook in the evenings, and need something simple and quick with minimal washing up. You only need one pan for this meal, and once you’ve chopped up the chicken and herbs, there really isn’t much more to it other than tossing it all together. Then you get freed up to do other things while it cooks away, no need to stir!
I served this with some cooked red cabbage and kale in balsamic, but you could just as easily serve it with a simple salad or steamed vegetables to make the meal full. I love how simple this meal is, and I had some leftovers to take for lunch the next few days which I tore up and put over a salad. It lends itself really well to leftovers, and is just all round really delicious! If you want something to look forward to in your work day, definitely make enough to take as a healthy leftover!
Until next time, happy eating!
Ella xx
