BA REV: Spicy Roast Chicken with Tomatoes & Marjoram

[seannasad2k]

We had this for dinner tonight, and all gave it a thumbs up. It was very simple to prepare, and makes a great weeknight dinner. Simple fresh ingredients that you toss together and throw in the oven for about half an hour. Mom and sister thought it was a little too spicey, and would cut back on the red pepper next time. We made 6 chicken breasts so we upped it a little. I liked it as is. I would definitely make it again. Enjoy!:p

SPICY ROAST CHICKEN WITH TOMATOES AND MARJORAM
Marjoram's full flavor does all the work in this incredibly simple recipe. Serve with crusty bread to soak up the delicious juices.

24 ounces cherry tomatoes (about 4 cups), stemmed
1/4-cup olive oil
5 garlic cloves, pressed
1 1/4 teaspoons dried crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh marjoram
4 chicken breast halves with ribs

Preheat oven to 450°F. Toss tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, crushed red pepper, and 1-tablespoon marjoram in large bowl. Place chicken on rimmed baking sheet. Pour tomato mixture over chicken, arranging tomatoes in single layer on sheet around chicken. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast until chicken is cooked through and tomatoes are blistered, about 35 minutes. Transfer chicken to plates. Spoon tomatoes and juices over chicken. Sprinkle with remaining 1-tablespoon marjoram.

Makes 4 servings.

Bon Appétit
June 2003

[Ohioan]

Thanks for posting this; it sounds delicious. Do you actually leave the tomatoes whole during the roasting? So where do the juices come from? Just the chicken and the oil? And, if the tomatoes are whole, do you just pop them in your mouth as you eat, or do you puncture or cut them to let the tomato juice mingle with the chicken juices?

Thanks again,
Phoebe

[seannasad2k]

The tomatoes cook whole. But they pop a little and some of the juices seep out. Most of the juice, however, is from the chicken and the oil though. I was surprised because the finished product was not oily at all. The juice was more like a thin broth with the garlic/chicken/oil flavoring. I don't think I mentioned it earlier, but we used skinless chicken breasts. That's all the store had. I usually pick the skin off anyway. But, I don't know how much greasier the dish would have been if the skin was on and the breasts were not trimmed of fat.

I did two things with the tomatoes...I either ate a whole one with a bite of chicken, or I smooshed it into a piece of crusty bread. Either way, they tasted great.

[Ohioan]

Thanks for the quick reply! The recipe is on my "to make" list for this week.

Cheers,
Phoebe

[JustKi]

I have to admit...I am a tomato hater on the road to recovery. I started out a tomato sauce/ketchup only. Then, I started cooking, and I realised I could deal with diced if they were cooked. Then, I tasted Bruschetta. Some I can handle...some, still taste too much like tomato. I cannot eat a sandwhich with a slice of raw tomato, but I LOVE tabbouleh, and I liked this dinner. Eating one of these tomatoes on it's own was/is a little much for me. Pair it with something, and I can like it. I am trying very hard to get over my tomato problem. In the last two months...I am accepting of olives and tomatoes. Cilantro is another story. I absolutely will never like cilantro or fennel. I've tried...it's an acquired taste that I cannot acquire.

[Ohioan]

I made this tonight, and it really is a quick, easy, bright-tasting dish. The only thing I might do differently next time would be to puncture the tomatoes once they start cooking, to get their juices to leak into the pan juices and cook a little more. Even blistered and collapsed, the unpunctured tomatoes were a little too raw- and sharp-tasting for me; they kind of overpowered the chicken at times.

I might also throw some slices of yellow squash into the pan along with the tomatoes.

All in all, it's a nice summery recipe -- and, of course, a snap to prepare. Thanks again for posting it!

Cheers,
Phoebe

[semmens]

I liked this but DH did not; I think he felt, like others did, that the tomatoes overpowered everything.

Definitely quick and easy, though!

Laura

[Kismet]

Thanks so much for pointing out this recipe! I made it for dinner the other night, and both DH and I really enjoyed it. The only thing I wish I would have done differently was to add some salt and pepper to the tomato mixture with the garlic and herbs. I also used only 1 Tbsp olive oil in 1/2 recipe, and it was still very juicy with no sticking problems.

[Kuvy]

OMG!
This was sooooo good last night.
I sprayed a baking sheet with PAM then used only half the amount of oil called for in the recipe (i.e. 1/8-cup?), as well as using 6 chicken breasts instead of "4 with ribs". Still absolutely delicious and didn't suffer at all from the reduced oil. Next time, to make it really perfect, I will bake it for only 25 minutes (instead of 35) and use less marjoram. I had a bunch of leftover marjoram and it was closer to 3 TB chopped. Turns out marjoram has quite a medicinal flavor when you use too much!!! :rolleyes:
But this was INCREDIBLY easy - it took less than 10 minutes to get it into the oven - so we'll be having this again and again.
Oh yes and I sliced a pre-made roll of polenta, sprayed both sides with PAM and a little S&P, then arranged those around the edges of the pan to bake for the last 15 minutes of the cooking time.
Hmmm.... now I wish I had leftover marjoram so I make it again tonight!!!!

:cool:

[KristinK]

seannasad2k, thanks for posting this recipe! We really enjoyed it.

I wanted to finish off some fresh oregano, so I used that instead of the marjoram. (Guess you're in for an epicurious review already!) I only used 1 tablespoon oil and 1 teaspoon crushed pepper, and it was still too spicy for DBF :rolleyes: I followed Phoebe's suggestion of crushing the tomatoes (halfway through cooking time) and adding sliced zucchini. I used 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts and cooked for just under 20 minutes. I served it with soft Parmesan polenta and sautéed Swiss chard.

[dublchk]

This sounds yummy! I love roasted grape or cherry tomatoes. They are especially good with creamy pasta dishes like fettucine alfredo. I'll have to give this recipe a try.

[newcook]

I made this dish with bone-in chicken breast and everything else exactly as is. I really liked it, and it is very pretty with the tomatoes around the chicken. I did not find any of the flavors overpowering and strangely I thought the reheated leftovers tasted even better which is really unusual for chicken. I have to say though that with the skin-on chicken breasts the dish was greasy.

Thanks for posting the recipe.

[Robyn1007]

Thanks for bumping this up! It sounds delicious, simple and was posted before my time here so I hadn't seen it.

[PAMMELA]

Here (http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?t=106547&highlight=Marjoram) is where I also posted a review of this recipe recently - I didn't search for a prior one...oops.

[newcook]

Now that you mention it Pammela, I'm pretty sure I got the recipe from your post on the other thread. Sorry about not giving you the credit.