Balsamic chicken caprese pasta

A delicious summertime pasta dinner made with garden fresh tomatoes, fresh basil, mozzarella, and balsamic glazed chicken! This pasta dish can be enjoyed hot, warm, or cold straight out of the fridge. 

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It's a lovely dish for a late summer evening, especially if you are lucky enough to have garden fresh grape or cherry tomatoes and basil. Our basil plant is one of the few things doing really well in our garden this year and while we have been getting a few grape tomatoes, I still had to buy some of those for this dish. 

Hopefully next year's garden is more successful, though a lot of it has to do with the crazy weather we've been having here this summer, so who knows.

Balsamic chicken caprese pasta
1 pound rotini (or other pasta like penne or bowties)
about 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 medium breasts), cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, divided
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, divided
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 pint grape (or cherry) tomatoes, halved lengthwise
8 oz fresh mozzarella pearls, drained
about 1 cup fresh basil leaves, roughly torn

Cook the pasta in salted boiling water according to package directions. Drain, reserving about 1/2 cup of the cooking water.

While the pasta cooks, heat about 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken. Season with a good pinch of salt and a couple grinds of black pepper. Cook until the chicken is browned and cooked through. Then stir in two tablespoons of balsamic vinegar until the chicken is coated. Remove from heat.

Whisk together the remaining olive oil, vinegar, a good pinch of salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and Italian seasoning in a medium bowl or glass measuring cup.

Stir the pasta into the chicken along with 1/4 cup of the cooking water. Stir in the tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil. Then gently stir in the dressing to taste. You need not use it all and you can use more cooking water, if desired, to loosen the pasta. Taste and season with salt and pepper, if needed.

Serve immediately, or refrigerate and serve cold. If serving cold, you may want to add a bit more olive oil, or a bit of cold water (or dressing if you did not use it all) to re-loosen up the pasta.