Basil and Tomato Chicken

Going with the fresh basil theme from last week’s pesto recipe, here’s another option for using fresh basil: in a marinade for chicken breasts. This Italian inspired marinade is wonderful for summer with the bright flavors of fresh tomato, basil, and balsamic vinegar. It’s super fast to prepare and needs only a few ingredients. Be sure to plan ahead, so you give the chicken plenty of time in the marinade.

This recipe comes from a very unlikely source, not one that I regularly scout out for recipes…About.com. Goes to show what treasures can come out of a Google search!

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
• 4-6 tomatoes, quartered
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, loosely packed
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper

First, chop the tomatoes into sections for the food processor.

Combine garlic, tomatoes, vinegar, oil, basil, black pepper, and salt in the food processor.

Reserve a small amount of tomatoes and basil. You’ll chop these for garnish at serving time.

Process the ingredients in the food processor until the tomatoes are completely blended.

In a large resealable plastic bag, add chicken.

Then add marinade to the chicken. Make sure chicken in well coated. Seal the bag and allow it to marinate in the refrigerator for 6-8 hours.

Preheat grill. Place chicken on grill and cook on medium heat for 10-12 minutes, turning once. Remove chicken from heat and garnish with diced tomatoes or chopped basil.

BONUS: the leftover marinade makes a great sauce! Heat it up and spoon it over pasta. Pulls together a whole chicken-with-pasta meal!