These chicken breasts are tender and juicy and loaded with Mediterranean flavours. This is a healthy yet drool worthy dish you’ll want to make again and again.
The problem with boneless skinless chicken breasts is that they can dry out easily. Overcooking is the culprit. In this dish, the breasts are quickly seared, then finished in a delicious sauce made with tomatoes, olives and capers. I’ve included a few tips to ensure proper cooking and best flavours.
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Chicken breasts can vary widely in size. Consider the Kirkland brand package of boneless skinless chicken breasts available at Costco. There are usually 9 pieces in a 2 kg package – that’s 4.4 pounds. Each breast is almost half a pound of meat! According to many legitimate north American sources, a serving of chicken is 3-4 ounces or about 85-135 grams. So, keeping that in mind, there’s a reason this recipe has only 2 breasts but is 4 servings.
You’ll notice that chicken breasts are thicker at one end and taper down to a flatter point. By the time the thickest part is cooked completely, the thinner end is dry and overcooked. To help solve that, slice the chicken in half horizontally so you have two thinner pieces. In addition to more even cooking and more accurate serving sizes, you’re also saving money!
Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Once the pan is hot, give them a quick sear on both sides. This will give the exterior a little colour and start building flavour. Take them off the heat and cover loosely while you make the sauce. They aren’t fully cooked yet but will finish in the sauce.
When adding wine to the sauce, allow it to come to a simmer to cook off the alcohol. You want the flavour but not a “boozy” taste. Wine also helps to deglaze the pan which means absorbing any tasty bits left behind from cooking the chicken. If you prefer not to use wine you can substitute chicken broth. Once you’ve added the rest of the sauce ingredients, simmer away for 5 or 10 minutes so the tomatoes soften and the liquid reduces slightly. If you’re wondering why I suggest slicing the garlic, it’s because you get milder flavour.
Use the best tasting tomatoes you can find to make Mediterranean Chicken Breast. If they’re not in season, smaller varieties like cherry or grape have excellent flavour year round. Then there’s the olives. Salty briny olives. I love the colour and flavour of Kalamata olives so I prefer them in this dish but if you’re not a huge fan of the intense briny tang you can use a more common olive like green or pimento stuffed manzanillas. I wouldn’t recommend canned black olives because they tend to be too soft and don’t have the brine that makes this chicken so good.
What are capers?
Capers. I can’t look at one without salivating. I was introduced to them by Mr. H when we were dating. Back when he was trying to impress me he took me to a nice restaurant and we had smoked salmon with red onion and capers. I was hooked. On the capers I mean. So what exactly are capers? They’re actually an edible flower bud from a Caper bush that are salted and pickled. You don’t need many to add a punch of flavour because they’re quite salty and intense. I can eat them right out of the jar but some may find them a little too strong. Honestly though, they work in this recipe so please try them!
Nestle the chicken breasts back in the pan once the sauce is ready, spoon some over top and finish in the oven. You may think it’s not enough cooking time but that’s long enough. Serve over some potatoes, rice or couscous.
If you make Mediterranean Chicken Breast, consider leaving a comment or rating below. Here’s the recipe:
Mediterranean Chicken Breast
Ingredients
- 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
- salt and pepper to season chicken and sauce
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- ½ red onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, sliced
- ½ cup white wine or chicken broth
- ½ lemon, juiced approx 2 Tbsp
- 1 ½ cups chopped, seeded flavourful ripe tomatoes use cherry or grape tomatoes out of season
- ¼ cup chopped kalamata olives
- 1 tsp capers or more, optional but highly recommended
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp fresh thyme or ½ tsp dried
Instructions
- Season both sides of chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Preheat oven to 350°.
- Heat large oven safe skillet to medium-high and add olive oil. Sear chicken pieces on both sides just until lightly browned. Remove to a plate and cover loosely to keep warm.
- Rinse and chop onion, garlic and tomatoes. Reduce heat to medium low, add onion to pan and cook until slightly softened. Add garlic and cook just until softened but not browned.
- Turn heat back to medium-high and add white wine. Deglaze pan by scraping up all bits of colour from chicken and onion, incorporating into the wine. Allow wine to cook a few minutes to remove most of alcohol and reduce slightly.
- Add tomatoes, lemon juice, oregano and thyme. Simmer for 5-10 minutes until tomatoes are softening. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.
- Drain and chop olives and add to pan. Drain capers and add to pan.
- Stir sauce, then add chicken pieces back into pan. Spoon sauce over each piece. Cover pan and roast in oven for about 15 minutes until chicken is cooked through but still juicy.
- Serve over couscous, rice or potatoes and spoon extra sauce over top.
This is such a tasty recipe, although anything with olives has me hooked!
Thanks Marilyn! Ditto on the olives!