Grilled Chicken Caprese

Do you love Caprese salads?  Summer-ripe tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil, sprinkled with S&P, good olive oil, and maybe some balsamic vinegar?  A wonderful summer side salad when tomatoes are at their best.  Well, here's a twist on that, making this an equally wonderful summer entree.  I simply served this with a Caesar salad.

GRILLED CHICKEN CAPRESE (Serves 4-6)

4 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
S&P
4 Tbsp olive oil
6 oz fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/4" slices, halved, patted dry
4 chicken breasts, about 1 1/2-2# (see note below)
2 large firm tomatoes, cored and cut into 1/2" slices

In a small bowl, combine the basil, vinegar, garlic, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper.   Slowly whisk in the oil until it is thoroughly incorporated.  Transfer 3 Tbsp of the vinaigrette to a bowl and toss in the fresh mozzarella pieces, coating the cheese with the vinaigrette.  Set aside.  Reserve the remaining vinaigrette for the cooked chicken.

Pat the chicken pieces dry with a paper towel and season both sides with S&P.  Grill the chicken and tomatoes on a hot grill until the chicken is browned and cooked through and the tomatoes are lightly charred (watch carefully, you don't want them to fall apart), about 2-3 minutes per side (depending on the thickness of your chicken and heat of the grill).  Transfer the cooked chicken to a platter.  Top with the tomato slices and drizzle with the reserved vinaigrette.  Cover the chicken with an even layer of mozzarella and tent the platter loosely with foil.  Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes (the cheese won't melt all the way, but will get a bit gooey).  Serve.

NOTE:  The chicken breasts should be on the thinner side of things.  If you have gargantuan, thick chicken breasts, slice them in half horizontally, giving you two thinner chicken breasts.  All in all, you should end up with 4-6 thinner pieces of chicken (I cut one 9 oz breast in half horizontally, the chicken cooked about 3 minutes on one side, 2 minutes on the other).  Also, look for tomatoes that are ripe but still firm so they will hold their shape on the grill.