Roast Eggplant Bruschetta Chicken

Although I love the organic produce delivered to my doorstep each week, at times it can be a bit of grab bag. Last Friday, upon discovering an immense eggplant lurking amongst the yummies, I knew to expect unrest around my kitchen table. My husband (usually a staunch fan of my culinary skills) had thus far rejected all my wily attempts to fool him into enjoying the purple pretty.

However, this particular concoction met with applause. Success! The flavours of the chicken drippings, the tangy acidity of the tomato mixture, the oven browning prior to adding the other ingredients...these things all added up to transforming the eggplant into something beyond a mere vegetable (well, actually a fruit, but that’s a whole other blog) and into a silken carrier of scrumptiousness.

Roast Eggplant Bruschetta Chicken

6 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts, halved

1 large eggplant, sliced lengthwise, about 1” thick

2 tablespoons olive oil

Sea salt

Pepper

1 28 oz can good quality tomatoes, drained

3 cloves of garlic, minced

3/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup capers

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper 

1 tablespoon dried oregano

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.  Brush a large baking sheet with olive oil. Lay the eggplant slices atop. Brush eggplant with the with a bit more olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for about 5 minutes.

In the meantime, brush chicken breasts with remaining olive oil and season liberally with salt and pepper. Lay chicken on top of eggplant slices and roast for about 10 minutes, or until chicken is nicely browned.

Remove chicken/eggplant baking sheet from the oven, and reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Combine remaining ingredients, breaking up the tomatoes a bit. Pour this mixture over the chicken. 

Return entire thing to the oven and roast for about another 40 minutes or until chicken is  no longer pink.

Great spooned over rice, pasta or baby roast potatoes