I ran across this Bruschetta Chicken with Zucchini Pasta recipe last week and HAD to try it as it features one of the 4 herbs I have in my herb garden – BASIL! My basil is growing fantastically, as is my oregano (it came back from last year – thanks Diane!). The dill is doing pretty well too. The parsley is not producing as much as I want to eat, but it’s persevering. The cilantro is dead and buried. RIP cilantro.
Anyway, back to the recipe. I wish I would have thought ahead and made up the bruschetta and marinade yesterday. As it was, I made everything when I got home from work last night and let the works sit for about an hour. I made a few alterations to the recipe – Tim does not like balsamic vinegar, which is a pretty integral ingredient in bruschetta, so I went light on that. Also, I had no walnut oil, so I used olive oil. I also smashed the chicken breasts in a plastic baggie, so that they were nice and flat and would cook evenly, then I added the marinade to the baggie and rubbed it all over the breasts (wink wink). I also forgot to buy a lemon, so I used 1 T of lemon juice instead of the juice and zest from one lemon. They turned out SUPER delicious.
I used my mandoline to create the zucchini noodles and to shave a little bit of flesh off the tops of my fingers. I can’t figure out how to the use the little tool that is supposed to prevent you from shaving off the tips of your fingers. It mystifies Tim and me utterly.
The combination of the parts – sauteed zucchini noodles, grilled & marinated chicken breasts, and garlicky, basily bruschetta – turned out fantastic. This was a perfect summertime supper. We will definitely make this again! I can’t wait until my coworkers’ gardens explode with zucchini, so I can have it for free instead of paying $1/zucchini at the farmer’s market from some douchebaggy farmer who complains about how people hand him cash (not all perfectly sorted and straightened out). I love having produce from the FM, but I hate buying it there. Too many people, dogs, strollers, and sun. It’s so hot and crowded.
Tonight I’m making beef & liver meatballs, accompanied by sweet potato salad. It’s going to be deeeeelicious.
Yes, please make this again! I wonder if there is some layout and logistics for crowd flow that would help minimize the circus congestion at the farmer’s market?