Roasted Hasselback Caprese Chicken

Have you ever decided to create something new just for the thrill that comes with experimentation? Well, I do that in the kitchen. All. The. Time. My poor family members are often the test subjects of my inventions, and they've tasted everything from bone-dry meats to under-cooked vegetables. There's an even higher likelihood that my recipes will be disastrous because I don't use many conventional ingredients. When you eat low-carb, and lots of whole, natural foods, there's no flour or sugar in your pantry. But you do have plenty of almond and coconut flour, tapioca starch, and monk fruit. And sometimes, substitutions aren't exactly one to one (I learned this after making a pan of positively catastrophic grain-free brownies one day). On occasion, however, I'll invent something that actually tastes good! If the recipe gets an A+ from my sister, who is extraordinarily difficult to please, I jump right to the computer and type it up for you all.

And oh boy did I hit the jackpot today with my Roasted Hasselback Caprese Chicken. Have you ever heard of hasselback potatoes? You pretty much cut the starch into extremely thin slices, leaving about 1/4 of an inch of the potato unsliced. I stumbled across a recipe for Hasselback Potatoes in one of my mom's old cooking magazines, and vaguely remember having them for Thanksgiving one year. Those potatoes looked quite pretty, and so I decided to apply the concept to my Caprese Chicken; don't worry, dear reader. I'm not going to make you labor away, cutting chicken breasts into extremely thin slices. A few deep gashes will work just fine. The flavors for this recipe are inspired by one of my absolute favorite sides, the Caprese Salad. Roma tomatoes, freshly chopped mozzarella cheese, basil, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar are classic and highly versatile flavor combinations - why, I thought, they might just be scrumptious when stuffed into Hasselback Chicken! And so this recipe was born:

Roasted Hasselback Caprese Chicken - Serves 4-6
Ingredients:

• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (try to buy free-range)
• 2-3 large roma tomatoes
• A package of fresh mozzarella cheese, enough to fulfill your cheesy cravings (in my family we believe the cheesier, the better!)
• Italian herb seasoning, to taste
• Salt and Pepper, to taste
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• Olive oil
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Optional: Fresh Basil

Execution: Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Get out a cutting board, and begin to hasselback your chicken. To do so, lay the first breast on the cutting board and hold it down firmly with your non dominant hand. With your dominant hand, use a steak knife to cut about six deep slashes in your chicken breasts. These slashes should be horizontal and along the length of the chicken breast; this can be viewed in the picture to the left. Remember not to cut through the entire breast! We aren't looking for chicken tenders. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts. Place your three hasselback chicken breasts on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Cut your Roma tomatoes into thin slices and stuff them into every other slash on each of your chicken breasts. If the whole round of tomato doesn't fit in the cut, never fear! Simply chop the tomato slice in half. Place the remaining tomatoes slices around the chicken on the pan. Next, cut your fresh mozzarella into rounds. If you want to save some time, you can always buy pre-sliced mozzarella at your local grocery store. Stuff the remaining slashes in the chicken with mozzarella rounds. Again, if an entire round doesn't fit, cut it in half. Lay the left-over chopped mozzarella around the chicken with the tomatoes. Sprinkle with a generous amount of Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste. Spread your minced garlic over the stuffed chicken breasts. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Top with fresh basil (if using); herb-buttered broccoli is an excellent side dish for this recipe. Enjoy!

And there you are! I hope my Roasted Hasselback Caprese Chicken satisfies your appetite for an Italian-ish dish. Happy Monday, everyone. Let's make this week an amazing one.

- Maya

Photo by Maya, Photo by Lexie Barnhorn on Unsplash, Photo by Maya