This cheesy delicious chicken starts in a sauté pan and then finishes baking in the oven to melt the mozzarella. The pesto, garlic, a bit of wine and little tomatoes make for a deeply flavorful sauce and is ready in half an hour. This is from a website called Salt and Lavender, and the leftovers made a terrific lunch. I served it with brown rice, but pasta would be great as well. I have made this twice and the one change I made was to not add the pesto until the tomatoes had finished cooking. The cheese in the pesto stuck to the pan the first time and got lumpy, although it still tasted great.
2 large chicken breasts cut in half lengthwise
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chicken broth or dry white wine
10 ounces little tomatoes (grape or cherry) cut into halves
1/4 cup pesto
1/4 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded or thinly sliced
Fresh basil (optional for garnish)
Preheat your oven to 400 and move the rack to the top third of the oven. Cut the chicken breasts in half lengthwise so you have 4 thinner cutlets. Season them with the garlic powder and some salt and pepper.
Heat the oil and the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Once the skillet is hot, cook the chicken to 4-5 minutes/side or until golden (but don’t overcook as it will be finished in the oven.) Transfer chicken to a plate.
To the skillet, add the garlic, broth or wine, tomatoes, pesto and Italian seasoning. Scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan and cook until the tomatoes start to lose their shape and release the juice (3-5 minutes). Take the pan off the heat and add the chicken back in. Top the chicken pieces with the mozzarella.
Transfer the skillet to the oven and cook for 5 minutes and then carefully broil for another few minutes to brown the cheese (watch it carefully so it doesn’t burn). If you don’t want to broil, I’d cook the chicken in the oven for 7 minutes, or until it registers 165 F. Garnish with basil. Serves 4.
Note: If you don’t have an ovenproof skillet you could always transfer to a baking dish; which would be a good idea if you planned to make this ahead anyway.
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