One Last Hurrah - Chicken on Heirloom Tomato Bread Salad

Well, we're nearly at the end of the summer tomato season - truly all summer veggies - and, although I was a little "tomatoed out" by the end of August, this past Saturday I decided to buy one last carton of heirloom cherry tomatoes and a bunch of basil.

Roast Chicken on Bread Salad with Heirloom Tomatoes - serves 2

good olive oil

12 ounces fingerling potatoes (or new potatoes) cut into 1" chunks

1 medium red onion, cut into large chunks

1 head garlic, cloves separate but skins left on

1 red bell pepper, cut into 1" chunks

1 small fryer chicken, 2 1/2 to 3 pounds

1 pound heirloom cherry tomatoes, mixed varieties, whole

1 large bunch basil, cut into chiffonade and separated in half

2 large balls (8 ounces total) fresh mozzarella, sliced thinly

salt and pepper

1 bag mesclun mix (mixed baby lettuces)

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

Prepare croutons as for Roast Chicken on croutons; set aside.  Preheat the oven to 450.  Toss the potatoes, onion and garlic in olive oil, salt and pepper and place in a single layer in a large roasting dish.  Roast for 10 minutes.  Toss the red bell pepper in olive oil, salt and pepper and add to the potatoes; roast for another 10 minutes.  Toss the tomatoes and basil in olive oil, salt and pepper and add to the potatoes, making room in the pan for a roasting rack. 

Season the chicken liberally with salt and pepper and place breast up on a roasting rack in roasting pan.  Roast for 20 minutes, then turn the chicken over and roast another 20 minutes.  Return the chicken to breast-up position, turn the heat up to 500 and roast for another 10 minutes to crisp the skin (this is for a 3 pound chicken; a larger chicken may take up to 1 hour to cook fully). 

Remove the roasting pan from the oven.  Turn the oven off and the broiler on.  Remove the chicken and roasting rack and set aside.  Add the croutons to the vegetables and toss to coat.  Place the slices of mozzarella on top of the mixture and place under the broiler for about 7 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and just barely brown; check often to prevent burning.

Place the mesclun mix in a large bowl and drizzle olive oil and balsamic over; use sparingly here, you want your greens to be just barely dressed.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to coat.

To serve, place the greens on a platter and cover with the crouton/vegetable mixture.  Cut the chicken into pieces and place on top; sprinkle the leftover basil on top of the chicken.  Make sure each person is served some of the garlic cloves to squeeze out the delicious roasted cloves - who needs sauce?  Serve with some nice white wine (we had K Vintner's new Viognier - full and rich with a little residual sugar - the perfect transition from the light crisp rosés of summer) and think about the beauty of the fading summer.  *note - it is 85 degrees in Columbus, so I am not totally off my rocker for suggesting we can still enjoy the summer in October.