Get Cookin': Chicken Breasts with Balsamic-Glazed Apple, Garlic, and Shallot Salsa

A warm, herb-flecked, apple salsa-topped chicken. Now I ask you, doesn’t that sound more appetizing than “two servings of produce and one of lean protein?” Figged up with a sweet balsamic vinegar and oven-roasted garlic, it’s simply delicious! And it’s also good for you. You can use this salsa on grilled fish or shellfish, serve it hot or cold, or, make it ahead when you know you have to speed up preparation of an on-the-run meal. By the way, fig vinegar lends a distinctive taste, but regular balsamic will work also.

3 green apples, cored and diced

6 shallots, large dice

12 garlic cloves, peeled

1 teaspoon fresh thyme

1 tablespoon walnut or grapeseed oil

1 tablespoon fig balsamic vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

For the apple salsa:

Place the apples, shallots and garlic cloves in an ovenproof baking dish. Add the oil and thyme and toss until thoroughly coated. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, turning once.

Add the balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper to taste and toss thoroughly. Continue baking for another 10 to 15 minutes or until the garlic and apples are tender.

Spoon on the cooked chicken breasts and serve.

For the chicken:

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
Juice of half a lemon
Salt and pepper to taste

Rinse the chicken, pat dry with paper toweling and place it in a shallow dish that will hold it in one layer. Sprinkle both sides with the lemon juice and salt and pepper. Let sit for 10–15 minutes.

Grill or broil the chicken until the juices run clear when pierced with the tip of a knife or tine of a long-handled fork and the flesh is opaque and not pink.

Arrange the chicken on serving plates. Spoon the apple salsa over the chicken and serve.

(Serves 4)

Cloves of Flavor

A touch of garlic, often called “the stinking rose,” or onion in a recipe doesn’t pack much of a nutritional punch, but these members of the Allium family have tremendous value in adding mouth pleasure to your food without the help of butter, cream, and other high-fat ingredients. Though much has been written about the benefits of onions and garlic, especially with regard to blood clotting and cancer fighting properties, scientifically speaking, the jury is still out. Questions remain about their nutritional importance, such as whether you need to eat them raw or cooked or in quantities that would make it impossible to maintain both good health and social standing without an enormous infusion of breath mints after each meal.