Sandwich: Chicken & Bruschetta on Focaccia

As the weather warms up people want a fresh sandwich that can be eaten cold (as well as warm). This is my go to sandwich the "Chicken & Bruschetta on Focaccia".

To me it ticks all the right boxes: it is easy to eat, filling yet light (does not put you in a food comma!). Each part can be made from scratch or if you are in a hurry the pre-made ingredients are easily available at any grocery store and fairly inexpensive. This sandwich is also able to be customized to your own likes and dislikes.. want to add avocado? sure why not!

• 2 tbsp. Extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 Cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 Cup of multi-colored mini tomatoes, diced (or any tomato that you want)
• Basil thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp. Balsamic vinegar 
• Sea salt
• Freshly cracked pepper
• Crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 Chicken breast, flattened
• 1 Loaf Focaccia (or any bread that you want)
• Lettuce leaves

Cover the chicken breast in wax paper and use the bottom of a pot to bang it thin. Try to make the thickness as even as possible but one end will always be thicker that as that is just the way of chicken breasts. Preheat a frying pan to a medium heat with a table spoon of extra-virgin olive oil. Season both sides of your chicken breast with just cracked pepper and sea salt.

Cook the chicken through (should only be a few minutes on each side depending on the size of the breast), remove from pan and let it rest & cool. When the chicken is cool to the touch, slice it in half horizontally.

Crush the cloves with the side of a knife and remove the dry hull. Then slice the cloves thinly and cook them over medium-low heat in the same skillet in which you cooked the chicken.

Cook the garlic until lightly golden, 2 to 4 minutes, then remove from heat and let cool.

I used multi-colored cherry tomatoes as the base of the Bruschetta but you can use any tomato that you prefer. Chop the tomatoes into small 1/4" pieces and place in a bowl. Add thinly sliced basil to the bowl along with balsamic vinegar, sea salt and red pepper flakes. Add the garlic and oil from frying pan and toss all ingredients to combine.

Let the Bruschetta marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Slice the Focaccia in half horizontally and butter each half. This step is optional but I like the little extra crispiness and the bread to be slightly warmed. Heat the frying pan to medium and lightly toast each half of the Focaccia.

Note: If you use the same frying pan as you used for frying the garlic (in step 2) without wiping it you will get a slight hint of garlic in the Focaccia.

Place the sliced chicken breast on the Focaccia and top with a few of spoonful's of Bruschetta. Add a leaf or two of lettuce (I used Boston Bib lettuce, it is old school but it has a nice "buttery" texture and is great on a sandwich - but you can use any kind that you prefer).

Close the sandwich, cut it into a manageable size and you are done! Enjoy!