This is a really simple chicken recipe which captures Tuscan flavours and is ideal for using up old bread, in this recipe it was a foccacia which was just too hard to eat
Serves
4
Cooking time
1 hour
Ingredients
4 chicken breasts with skin on of possible
2 red peppers
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
4 fresh tomatoes, plum if possible
1 tsp white, red or sherry vinegar
4 tbsp butter
1 garlic clove sliced
A handful of basil, ripped to shreds
3 thick slices of old bread
2 cloves of garlic to rub into the croutons
First make the croutons, heat the oven to 150 and toast whatever bread you are using in the oven for ten minutes or until golden. Rub with garlic and then cut into cubes before coating in olive oil and returning to the oven for about five minutes, they should be quite crisp. Set aside and turn the oven up to 180.
Next prepare the peppers, hold them with a fork over a gas flame or place under a hot grill until the skin goes black and blisters. Put inside a plastic food bag or wrap in clingfilm so they sweat and then remove the seeds and skin. Cut the peppers into 4 pieces, and season with salt and drizzle with a little olive oil.
To prepare the tomato score a cross on the bottom of each one and blanch in salted boiling water for 1 minute, remove the skin and put two tomatoes into a blender, take the other two and scrape the seeds and pulp into the blender, with the remaining flesh cut them into quarters in a petal shape and set aside.
Whizz the tomatoes and strain into a bowl before adding the vinegar, 2 tbsp olive oil and a pinch of salt, this is the tomato vinaigrette.
Season the chicken with salt and pepper before pan frying in olive oil on one side for 5 mins over a high heat, flip it over and add butter and continue to fry spooning the butter over the chicken as it cooks for another 5 minutes or until cooked depending on the thickness of the breast meat. Transfer the chicken to the over for a few minutes on a low heat, about 150, while you prepare to serve.
Mix the tomato petals, peppers, sliced garlic and basil to make the salad with the croutons and viniagrette then serve with the chicken, salad leaves and shards of parmesan