Lemon Garlic Roast Chicken with Melted Tomatoes

I'm trying to start this post but I keep getting distracted looking at the picture. I'm so hungry right now (probably not a good idea to write about food when I'm hungry) and this dinner was so good that my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

I picked up some bone-in split chicken breasts for roasting, but not yet sure what other ingredients I would use or how I would season them. When I pulled them out to make dinner, I remembered that I had half of a container of assorted tomatoes leftover from the previous night's dinner of grilled pork tenderloin with chimichurri and a side of oven-roasted tomatoes. I loved the way these tomatoes melted in the oven so I wanted to use them again in this chicken dish.

I also ended up using a flavor combination I have been using often recently - lemon and garlic, with the addition of some thyme and balsamic vinegar.

All of these flavors combined so perfectly that I wouldn't change a thing about this recipe. The chicken was juicy and really took on the lemon garlic flavors. The tomatoes melted and formed a nice sauce around the chicken, and the balsamic gave the whole dish a rich and deep flavor with some sweet notes. I served the chicken with quinoa and steamed green beans.

Lemon Garlic Roast Chicken with Tomatoes
Original Recipe by Mary Ellen of Mary Ellen's Cooking Creations

Ingredients

• 2 bone-in split chicken breasts
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic, cut in half (3 for the chicken, 3 for the pan)
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar plus more (approx 2 Tbsp) for cooking
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 c mixed tomatoes, halved (larger tomatoes quartered)
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 4 thick slices of lemon

Directions

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees
• In a food processor, blend the olive oil, 3 cloves of garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, and 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and thyme. Gently lift the skin from the chicken and spread the oil/lemon mixture all over the chicken under and on top of the skin. Place in an oven-safe baking dish. 
• Surround the chicken with the tomatoes, onions and garlic
• Sprinkle everything with salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar; top each chicken breast with 2 slices of lemon
• Roast the chicken for 1 hr - 1hr 20 minutes, basting occasionally with the cooking juices, until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Let rest 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving. 

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