Grilled Chicken Cutlets with a Cherry Tomato Panzanella
Grilled Chicken Cutlets with a Cherry Tomato Panzanella is a super easy and perfect weeknight meal. Bright and cheery with a sweet cherry tomato panzanella on top, this recipe is pure summer.
Ingredients
- PANZANELLA
- 3 cups artisan bread or baguette cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 pound cherry tomatoes
- ½ large English cucumber
- ½ medium red onion thinly sliced
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Pepper to taste
- ½ cup thinly sliced basil
- CHICKEN
- 6 Raw boneless skinless chicken breasts mine were around 7.5 ounces each
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Dried oregano - about 1/8 teaspoon per chicken breast
- Cooking spray or oil of your choice high smoke point oil like avocado, coconut or even canola is best
- extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- PANZANELLA
- Slice or tear the bread into large cubes (about 1-inch). Place them on a baking sheet and leave them out to harden overnight (if the bread is not old).
- You could bake the bread in a 300 F oven until the crust is a little hardened but the inside is still soft. Made sure to move the bread around during the baking a couple of times.
- Place the bread chunks into a small bowl. Add some lukewarm water on top of the bread chunks to let it soak in and soften the bread a little while you prep the vegetables and dressing. (It could take about 1/2 cup water).
- Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and cucumber into bite-sized pieces.Thinly slice the red onions.
- In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, and a few grinds of fresh pepper; whisk together.
- In a large bowl combine bread and chopped vegetables. Pour on the vinaigrette and gently stir together to combine all the flavors.
- Let the salad sit at least half an hour before serving, or up to 4 hours. Next step is to grill the chicken cutlets.
- Next step is to grill the chicken cutlets.
- CHICKEN
- Place a chicken breast between two layers of plastic wrap. Using a meat mallet, flatten the thigh to 1/4" thickness. Repeat with remaining chicken thighs.
- Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper.
- In a large stove top grill pan, spray with cooking spray (I used avocado oil spraon medium-high until shimmering.
- Working in batches to avoid crowding, add chicken to the pan. Cover and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, allowing the one side to cook without turning and to get grill marks.
- Flip chicken and cook the second side for about 2-3 minutes. It shouldn’t take more than 6 minutes to cook and if you cut into the chicken, there should be no pink in the middle. Be sure not to overcook the chicken.
- Place each chicken breast on a plate, drizzle on a little extra-virgin olive oil on each piece and sprinkle on a little dried oregano. Top generously with panzanella and fresh parsley leaves. Serve immediately.
Notes
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