Italian Baked Chicken

A fresh and juicy dish of chicken breasts with bright Italian flavours of herbs, tomatoes and lemon that is easy to make in a single pan for a quick and simple evening meal or a lovely cold dish to serve the next day.

📝 Ingredients

• 500 g mini chicken breast fillets (or 2-3 breasts cut down)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 tsp dried basil (or use 1 tsp Italian seasoning instead of basil and oregano)
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 lemon juice and zest (unwaxed)
• 10–12 cherry tomatoes
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 handful torn fresh basil
• 1 handful chopped fresh parsley

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1Preheat oven to Gas Mark 7 / 210 °C fan / 425 °F. Put the chicken breast fillets, oil, garlic, and seasoning in the pan.
2. 2Use a fine microplane grater to zest about half the lemon over the top. Then cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice from one half in.
3. 3Give everything a good shake or toss with tongs so that the chicken is evenly coated with seasoning, garlic, lemon and oil.
4. 4Cut the cherry tomatoes in half, and arrange on top of the chicken, finishing with the bay leaf. Cover with foil and bake for about 10 minutes.
5. 5Remove the foil. You will see that the chicken has started to poach around the edges. Return to the oven uncovered for a further 10–12 minutes until cooked through.
6. 6Check that the chicken is cooked.
7. 7Cover and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and garnish with chopped parsley and sprigs of fresh basil to serve.