Crispy chicken and roast tomatoes

On my front deck I have a multitued of herbs growing some lovely geraniums and several tomato plants.  Most are cherry tomatoes and one very productive plum tomato plant.  I am now starting to get a small crop and it gives me such pleasure to go out on to the deck and harvest some tomatoes and herbs and produce a meal using them.

A cherry tomato plant nestling with the geraniums

I needed something simple to make the other evening for my husband and I and though still a pleasant day, it did not feel like barbecue weather, so I turned on the oven and came up with this.

4 chicken thighs
A handful of cherry tomatoes
1 clove of garlic cut up
A sprig of basil roughly chopped
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 tablespoon of good balsamic vinegar



Place the chicken thighs skin side up in a small roasting tin, and nestle the cherry tomatoes around them along with the basil and garlic. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle the olive oil over.

Place this in 400 oven for about 40 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the skin is golden and crispy on top.

Place either on the plates or a serving dish and drizzle with a little balsamic reduction, I used one with some heat to it, which went beautifully with the sweetness of both the vinegar and roasted tomatoes.

You could of course cook the chicken with out the skin, but really that is the best part.