Grilled Chicken Pesto Bruschetta

Hello from La Spezia, Liguria. We made a spontaneous decision to take a trip to Italy last week and spending time here working and relaxing. I’m totally in love with Liguria, it’s stunning Mediterranean coast, charming towns, wonderful people and delicious delicious food. Liguria is all about Pesto Classico, Corxetti pasta, Faranita, and wonderful cheeses. The Ligurian pesto goes on everything here and I feel it totally needs its own blogpost because I think I was doing my pesto all wrong. After learning it the right way I have to say Ligurian pesto was a game changer for me. For this recipe I’m making a simple basil pesto topped over grilled chicken, fresh mozzarella, late summer tomatoes and a tomato vinaigrette to round off all the flavors. It’s everything you’ll find in a bruschetta, only the bread is replaced with grilled chicken.

How do you get skinless boneless chicken properly cooked but not dry? Boneless skinless chicken breast has a reputation for being dry, boring and eaten by elite athletes for the purposes of lean protein. Well the trick is to cut the breast horizontally into two equal portion like a butterfly. This gives the piece maximum surface area so it cooks really fast, reducing the cooking time in return and retaining the moisture. The second is inject it with flavors, being so low in fat chicken breast will gladly accept fat and in return make it tasty. So we’ll cover it with pesto, mozzarella and tomato vinaigrette.

The next part to this recipe is the pesto. You could make it at home or buy store bought. I have a quick recipe it it works equally well with store bought too.

Pick ripe tomatoes, baby cherry or even heirloom works really well. Simply dice the tomatoes into bite sized pieces and gently toss it with vinaigrette.
Fresh mozzarella is wonderful but if you want to go a step further tear up some fresh buratta for the next level of yumminess.

Ingredients

• 4 medium boneless skinless Chicken breasts, sliced horizontally and divided
• 6-8 oz fresh mozzarella sliced or burrata torn ( I used the latter)
• 2-3 tablespoons e.v olive oil
• 1 tspSalt
• Fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Basil Pesto

• 2 garlic cloves, halved
• sea salt
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts
• 3 cups packed fresh basil, leaves picked, rinsed, and patted dry
• 6 tablespoons grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
• 2 tablespoons grated pecorino romano cheese
• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Tomato balsamic Vinaigrette

• 12-14 oz tomatoes, halved or quartered if large
• 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons e.v olive oil
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• sea salt as needed
• freshly cracked black pepper
• a few basil leaves for garnish

Instructions

1. Place all ingredients for the pesto into a small food processor and pulse until combined, process it a little longer for smooth creamy pesto. Add more olive oil or seasoning if necessary. Cover and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, toss together all ingredients for the tomato vinaigrette. Set aside allowing the flavors mingle. 
3. Slice the chicken pieces horizontally and evenly dividing them into two pieces like a butterfly.
4. Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel and rub with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper.
5. Place the chicken on the hot grill and cook until the center is opaque and the internal temperature of the chicken is 165° F. Right before the chicken is done being grilled, place a slice of fresh mozzarella on each breast.
6. Transfer from the grill when the mozzarella starts to melt, but not dripping down the sides of the chicken. 
7. Top the mozzarella slices with pesto and a tomato vinaigrette. Serve right away.
8. Pesto will keep fresh up to one 1 week refrigerated in an airtight container or freezes really well.