Balsamic Glazed Chicken Caprese Salad

In familial Italian style, this is a simple yet fanciful platter, meant to be shared! The quality of this salad comes down to juiciness of the chicken and the quality of the ingredients. This is often what separates cuisine in Italy apart from a lot of food in North America — freshly picked from nutrient-rich soil! And cold-pressed, single-origin olive oil, stored in dark glass to preserve its freshness. 

INGREDIENTS

• 1/3 c. balsamic glaze 
• 1 tsp freshly minced thyme
• 2 chicken breasts
• 2 fresh mozzarella balls 
• 3 tomatoes 
• bunch of basil
• olive oil
• sea salt

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 400°F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Rinse and pat dry the chicken breasts, then lay bottom side up. Sprinkle some of the thyme and then spread balsamic glaze on them. Flip the chicken over to breast side up, sprinkle with the rest of the thyme and coat the top side with more balsamic glaze, saving a bit for drizzling over the salad platter. Bake for 20 minutes. While the chicken is baking, slice the mozzarella and tomatoes. 

Once the chicken has baked and rested afterward for 5-10minutes, slice it up and start layering it on the serving tray with the mozzarella, tomato slices and basil. Once everything is arranged beautifully on the plate, drizzle with the remaining balsamic glaze, olive oil and then lightly sprinkle with sea salt.