Dear Reader, we ate it.
I made a colorful, delicious, transcendentally healthy dinner last night and fully intended to take a picture for this post. I tried to turn on my camera, but discovered that the batteries had been harvested by Sam to prolong the life of some ebbing controller thingamajig used to do horrifically violent things that no good parent would allow. I watched the steam rising from my plate, anxiously calculating it’s declining volume. Rob took his first bite and groaned with pleasure. (I’m not making that up). I tried the camera on my phone, but the batteries in my phone were dead. I surrendered to the lure of the fork.
So
Imagine this: a juicy, marinated chicken breast fresh from the grill with crispy bits, sliced against the grain and lying on a modest bed of quinoa, topped with lightly sauteed cherry tomatoes and spicy green olives, with a generous sprinkling of crumbled feta cheese. Very few carbs, for those of us who are counting, a great mix of flavors and textures, and a vision of red, orange and yellow tomatoes and green olives tumbling decadently over the chicken. (I hope that worked for you, I really do).
It’s perfect if you are watching fat, calories and/or carbs, but it’s really salty and probably not great if you are working on controlling hypertension. It would be great with the addition of a little diced hot pepper if one is so inclined, and would be good supported by rice, cous cous, pasta or polenta. You can happily play with different kinds of olives (I used a variety of brined, green kalamatas in oil with crushed peppers) and you could even use a mild blue cheese in place of the feta. It’s also very quick to prepare, and I’m sure that the chicken can be broiled or sauteed once it is no longer grilling weather in many parts of the world.
When I make this again, and I undoubtedly will, I’ll be sure there are batteries in the camera before I start cooking. Until then, you’ll have to trust me, and make this for yourself while the cherry tomatoes are fresh and local.
Chicken Breasts with Tomatoes and Olives
(Adapted from The September 2009 issues of “Cooking Light”)
Makes 4 servings
3.3 Grams of Carbohyrdate per serving
Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup multicolored cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
Oil and vinegar dressing
20 olives, halved
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
Instructions
- Heat grill to medium-high. Sprinkle chicken evenly on both side with salt and pepper. Place chicken on grill rack coated with cooking spray and grill for 6 minutes per side, or until done, brushing about 1 Tablespoon of dressing on each side once during grilling. Keep warm
- Combine tomatoes, 1 1/2 tablespoon dressing, and olives in a medium skillet over medium heat and cook for 2 minutes, or until tomatoes soften slightly, stirring occasionally.
- Cut each breast half into 3/4-inch slices. Top each half with 1/4 cup tomato mixture, and divide cheese evenly over servings. Add torn basil leaves, for even more flavor and color.
