Crispy Baked Chicken with Vegetable Relish

I love seeing a new recipe to try on social media.  It is quickly saved in a blog draft, but sometimes takes a while until I get to it. After 3 weeks away, and a week to get back on local time and my mojo working, I was back in my cooking groove. It was time.

I found a recipe for Bruschetta Topped Crispy Baked Chicken on the Eating Well website. It looked so delish. And it was baked instead of fried, which meant it was more heart healthy. I didn't have all the ingredients for the Bruschetta.  I also didn't have any chicken tenders, I had 2 chicken breasts. 

Recently I began to push myself to be more creative when missing an ingredient, instead of running to the store. The recipe below reflects what I created using only what I had on hand.  It turned out great overall. The only surprise was I thought cooking the chicken on a rack meant it would be crispy top and bottom.  It wasn't. The top was perfect, the underside was mushy.

Next time I will cook it right on the cookie sheet. You could also bake the in an air fryer. I butterflied my chicken breasts open, so they would cook faster. That meant they were too large to fit in my fryer.  I loved the vegetable concoction I made - sort of a salsa, sort of a relish, not quite a bruschetta.  If you want to see the original recipe, you can view it HERE. 

Enjoy!

= = = =

Crispy Baked Chicken with Vegetable Relish
Serves 2

Chicken -

1/4 C                 All-purpose flour
1                        Large egg
2 T                    Water
½ C                   Panko breadcrumbs
¼ C                   Grated Parmesan cheese
2                       Chicken Breasts, butterflied open

Salt and Pepper
Cooking spray

Relish topping -

1 T                    Extra-virgin olive oil
1 T                    Balsamic vinegar
4                       Green onions minced
1/2                    Yellow bell pepper diced
14-15                Cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters (I like multicolored heritage)
2 oz.                  Feta, crumbled
1 oz                   Pitted Kalamata olives coarsely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions -

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place a wire cooling rack on a large rimmed baking sheet. Note - I will bake right on cookie sheet or in air fryer next time as it didn't help the underside to get crispy.

Spread flour in a shallow dish or pie pan. Whisk egg and water in another shallow dish. Combine panko and Parmesan in a third dish. Sprinkle chicken with 1/4 teaspoon pepper and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Dredge both sides of each piece of chicken in the flour, shaking off any excess. Dip in the egg mixture, then dredge in the panko mixture. Coat both sides of the cutlets with cooking spray and place on the prepared rack. Bake until cooked through and starting to brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, place all relish ingredients in a bowl and toss gently. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Place a chicken breast on a warm serving plate and top with a good helping of the vegetable relish. I like it on one side, partly on the chicken and partly on the plate.  Serve with your favourite sides - rice, potatoes, pasta, quinoa, etc.