Chicken in a Tomato-Basil Broth over Cous Cous
Tomatoes and basil in any dish together scream summer to me. And since we are in the middle of winter (actually, not even.. we have quite a bit of winter to go), who doesn't need a little bit of summer?
This recipe was inspired by a recipe in the blog I was given for the most recent Taste of Home Cooking recipe swap. For this swap, instead of submitting a specific recipe, we simply submitted our blogs and were given another blog from which we could choose any recipe. The blog I was given was Does Not Cook Well with Others. I browsed through her recipes, and decided to use this recipe for Chicken Tomato Basil Cous-Cous Salad as my inspiration. The original recipe is a cold salad, but I wanted to bring the flavors of summer to a hot dish.
Here is what I did -
Ingredients
- 1 box of pearled cous cous
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts pounded to 1/2 inch thickness
- Salt, pepper, Italian herbs (I use McCormick Perfect Pinch Italian - it's just dried herbs, no salt)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/2 sm onion, chopped
- 2 plum tomatoes, chopped
- 1 tbsp white balsamic vinegar (regular would work fine, but I didn't want to change the color of my dish)
- 3/4 c low sodium chicken broth
- Handful of fresh basil, cut into a chiffonade
- Optional: fresh mozzarella, about 1 tbsp per chicken breast, chopped
Directions
- Cook cous cous according to package directions
- Season chicken with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning
- Heat olive oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat
- Add chicken; saute 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a dish and keep warm.
- Add a touch of olive oil to your pan if it is dry. Add garlic and onions; saute 2 minutes.
- Add tomatoes, saute 2 minutes.
- Add balsamic vinegar and stir into ingredients for about 30 seconds.
- Add chicken broth and half of your basil. Bring to a steady simmer.
- Return chicken to the pan and let simmer 5 minutes.
- Serve over cous cous, top with the tomato broth, basil, and and the fresh mozzarella
Yes, this definitely tasted like summer!! Now if only I could wear flip-flops instead of boots...
