Roasted Mediterranean Chicken and Vegetables
This is a nice quick, healthy dinner that’s very filling and tasty. I’ve often made it for dinner and than saved leftovers for lunches. It definitely tastes best warm, though it’s okay cold. It’s also great with pasta, to make it a heartier meal – I had some leftover cooked pasta, and heated it up with some leftovers of this dish, and it was great.
Adding the bocconcini a few minutes before serving gives it a chance to melt, which is really nice. You could also add oregano to the balsamic vinegar mixture, or a different variety of vegetables that roast well; I’ve never tried it with zucchini, but I bet it would be delicious. Or substitute the boconcini and artichokes for feta and black olives. You can vary this up quite a bit and have a good meal – I’ve even done it without chicken, which makes a nice vegetarian side dish.
5-6 servings; 15 minutes prep, 35 minutes roasting time.
Ingredients
- 2- 3 chicken breasts
- 2 red peppers (or orange, or yellow)
- 1-2 red onions
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 cup artichoke hearts (or more to taste)
- 1 200g tub bocconcini (4 large ones, or a bunch of small ones)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar (or more to taste)
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika (or more to taste)
- fresh basil to taste
- Pepper and salt to taste
- Mix the oil, balsamic vinegar, crushed garlic, smoked paprika, salt and pepper in a small bowl and set aside.
- Pre-heat oven to 400.
- Cut chicken and red pepper into bite-sized pieces.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper.
- Cut onion into wedges.
- Add chopped chicken and all vegetables except artichoke hearts to a baking dish or tray.
- Pour balsamic vinegar mixture over the vegetables and chicken; mix to coat.
- Bake for 35 minutes, or until chicken is done. While baking, stir once or twice to allow all vegetables to roast well.
- While dish is still hot, add bocconcini (if you have the large bocconcini, rip them into smaller pieces), artichoke hearts, and basil (rip leaves into small pieces). Stir to combine and serve.
