Tuscany Chicken
I'm just so happy to have finally discovered fennel that I can hardly stand to keep from putting them it EVERYTHING right now! This dish is a great weeknight meal because its super easy and delicious. You can even skip the chicken altogether and serve up the roasted veggies with some toasted rustic bread and it would be fabulous as an hor d'eurve ( I just went through eight of my cookbooks trying to find the proper spelling of that word and found everything from Appy Hour to Small Plates, so I have no idea if its spelled correctly but you get the idea). And if you happen to be missing one or two of the veggies, you can easily omit them and it'll still be fabulous...well, be sure you have tomatoes...they're actually pretty important.
Ingredients:
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup olive oil
1 lemon, juice and zest
1 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
1-2 green onions, chopped
1 pint cherry (or grape) tomatoes
1/2 bulb fennel, chopped
1/2 cup red onion, chopped
1-2 zuchinni, sliced 1/4" thick
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper
1/4 cup kalamata olives, sliced (about 8)
1 tablespoon capers
Directions:
Place first five ingredients into a large ziplocking bag. Allow chicken to marinate for about one hour in the refrigerator. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and grill over a medium-high flame for about 8-10 minutes per side, or until an instant read thermoter registers 160 degrees at the thickest part of the breast. Remove chicken from grill and let sit for at least 5 minutes before cutting into the meat.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees on Convection Roast setting, or Bake if your oven does not have that feature. In a large bowl, toss tomatoes, fennel, zuchinni and red onions with olive oil. Spread vegetables out in an even layer in a large sheet pan with a lip (you don't want to lose any of that juice from the tomatoes!) and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast vegetables for about 18 minutes. Add olives and capers and give vegetables a good stir (flip the zuchinni) and continue roasting for another 5-6 minutes until tomatoes start to carmelize and zuchinni appears cooked through. Remove from oven and serve over chicken breasts.
So I had mine with chicken AND a chunk (or two) of rustic bread, but if you're a carbaphobe like my husband, you could easily do without and still thoroughly enjoy the dinner... Bon Appetit!
