Mediterranean Comfort

Today’s recipe was one we first enjoyed during a summer dinner on a deck in Georgetown. Our friends had arranged their townhouse backyard so that the dinner table was placed on a deck that overlooked their Koi pond, lushly surrounded by lots of healthy plants, interesting sculpture, and well-placed lights and candles. Conversation was easy, the wine was flowing and this chicken dish was memorable. Tops on this recipe’s list of attributes are the colors—slices of peppers and onions in red, yellow, green and purple make this look like you’ve gone to a lot of trouble, when really—you haven’t—its just an artful arrangement. And when this pungent spice mixture cooks into the chicken and the vegetables, the flavors you end up with are rich and complex. This is a good dish to make when you want to have it all ready to go in advance. Even though you’ll cook it just before eating, it isn’t hard and it isn’t messy—a baste or two and you’ve got a well-seasoned treat for your company.

Mediterranean Chicken

Serves 8

Ingredients:

8 boned chicken breasts
1 large red onion, sliced into 8 slices
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 green pepper, sliced into 8 rings,
1 red pepper, sliced into 8 rings
1 yellow pepper, sliced into 8 rings
2 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon black pepper
½ cup melted butter
2 cups chicken stock

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Place the chicken in a shallow baking dish. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Lay 1 onion slice, one of each pepper, some of the garlic and some of the tomato on each chicken breast. Sprinkle the seasonings over all. Drizzle each chicken breast with some of the melted butter. Add the chicken stock to the pan. Bake for 45 minutes, basting every 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.