Much like most of my camping meals, this Dutch Oven Caprese Chicken recipe packs more flavour than you’d expect, out of a very small number of ingredients. It really is gourmet campfire cooking at its most simple.
A lot of the camping recipes I use have been modified to make them easier when cooking outdoors, this one hasn’t. Caprese Chicken is already perfect for cooking over a campfire either in the lid of a Dutch Oven or in a cast iron skillet. It would also work well in a Trangia stove.
In fact, this recipe lends itself so well to camping that I’ve never actually made Chicken Caprese indoors! It wouldn’t, to me, be as good when cooked in a regular oven!
If you have never used a Dutch Oven before, they are basically big, heavy cast iron pots with legs. Dutch Ovens can be suspended over a fire on a tripod or placed directly into the hot coals.
To replicate a regular oven, hot coals are placed on top of the Dutch Oven. This is especially useful when melting cheese on a campfire.
I tend to make Caprese Chicken in the shallow lid of an aluminium Dutch Oven. You can cook it either directly in the coals or on a campfire grill.
I use an aluminium Dutch Oven as the acid from the balsamic vinegar and tomatoes will strip the oil seasoning from a cast iron Dutch Oven. You can still use a cast iron one, you’ll just have to re-season it after use.
Dutch Oven Caprese Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 chicken breasts cut in half
- 50 ml balsamic vineger
- 200g cherry tomatoes halved
- 4 slices mozzarella
Instructions
- Add the oil to the Dutch Oven lid. Season chicken with salt and pepper and cook both sides until golden. Transfer the browned chicken to a bowl.1 tbsp olive oil, 2 chicken breasts
- Add balsamic vinegar to the Dutch Oven and cook for 1 minute. Add tomatoes and season with salt. Simmer until soft.50 ml balsamic vineger, 200g cherry tomatoes
- Return chicken to Dutch Oven and nest in the tomatoes. Top each piece of chicken with mozzarella slices and cover with a pan to melt the cheese.4 slices mozzarella
- Once the cheese has melted and the balsamic and tomatoes have thickened, spoon tomatoes over the chicken and serve.
