Pages

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Christmas Recipe: Balsamic Chicken with Roasted Vegetables & Champ

Christmas is only 10 days away, and I've been very busy, preparing for the big day - so much to do, so little time! In the upcoming days, I will be sharing several recipes for things you can prepare or cook for your family on Christmas Day. As always these can prepared with minimal fuss, are very simple and delicious recipes.

Christmas Idea #1

Balsamic chicken maryland with roasted vegetables and champ

If you're cooking for a smaller family, a whole roast turkey may seem too much. Usually we like to go for roast chicken or beef, and this chicken maryland recipe is another great alternative. The chicken is very moist and the longer you marinate it, the more flavorful the meat will be. This is a dish you can prepare and cook in under 1 hour, so you can have quite a relaxed Christmas.




This is actually one of the recipes that I bookmarked during the "Cook Like a MasterChef" month but couldn't find the time that month to make it. In Australia, the term 'Chicken Maryland' simply refers to a butcher's cut consisting of the entire leg of thigh and drumstick, rather than any specific dish. One per person is usually sufficient.

Nice and juicy


The chicken is marinated with a homemade marinade of balsamic vinegar, oil and sugar for at least 1 hour, but if you can marinade it overnight, all the better. This is cooked in the oven along with some bell peppers and cherry tomatoes (added towards the end so the vegetables retain their crunch). The colourful vegetables makes this a rather festive looking dish.  You can serve the chicken with champ (an Irish mashed potatoes with spring onion) or just regular mashed potatoes.


Colorful vegetables




Balsamic Chicken with Roast Vegetables & Champs
Recipe adapted from MasterChef - Alysha
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 35-40 minutes
Serves 3

Ingredients
3 chicken maryland
1 yellow capsicum, cut into 1 x 1 inch chunks
1 green capsicum, cut into 1 x 1 inch chunks
1 large red onion, cut into wedges
8 cloves garlic, crushed
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
250g cherry tomatoes (I used Japanese mini tomatoes)
Fresh rosemary, to garnish

For the marinade
3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
6 tsp soft brown sugar

Champs mash
3 large Russet potatoes, peeled and chopped into chunks (approx. 600g)
60g butter, chopped
4 spring onions, snipped with scissors
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 tsp milk


1. Firstly, make the marinade. Whisk the balsamic vinegar, oil and sugar in a bowl until the sugar has dissolved. Arrange the chicken in a large roasting pan and drizzle half the marinade onto the chicken. Marinate for at least 1 hour before cooking or preferably overnight.


2. Preheat oven to 200°C.

3. Place the onion and garlic in the roasting pan with the chicken, and sprinkle the thyme over the top of the chicken. Drizzle about 1 tbsp of marinade on the onion. Bake for 25 minutes.

4. Add the cherry tomatoes and capsicums and drizzle the rest of the marinade over chicken and vegetables and bake for a further 10 minutes. Serve immediately with the champ mash and sauce, along with the roasted vegetables.

5. For the champ, boil potatoes in a saucepan of salted water over high heat until tender, about 15 minutes. Using a potato press, mash the potatoes until smooth. Add butter and spring onion, and mix well. Season with salt and pepper.


 Served with champ, cherry tomatoes and roasted bell peppers




You can also make a snowman using the mashed potatoes for your kiddies. They will love it!

33 comments:

  1. roast chicken, a definite crowd-pleaser at the family dinner table! i remember looking forward to evenings at home too when i was a schoolchild when dinner was roast chicken :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hubby actually prefers roasted chicken maryland cos it's much juicier. I also like this recipe for the balsamic marinade gives a very nice flavour to the meat.

      Delete
  2. My mouth is open as wide as your baby!!! Such a droolworthy yummy looking chicken..perfect for the season.

    ReplyDelete
  3. now that's what i called fooooddd... I'm hungry already. btw can I can change the brown sugar with honey?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think you can, but reduce it to maybe 2 tsp only. Cos you would not want the honey flavour to overpower the balsamic.

      Delete
  4. Looks absolutely delicious! Makes me wanna cook it again soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Made this a few times, definitely a great recipe!

      Delete
  5. That balsamic chicken looks scrumptious ! Of course , I want mine with rice :P :D Good thing that Baby D's still young enough not to complain about his measly portion ! lol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL! Actually the final photo is from a roast beef dinner meal but wanted to show the snowman that we made for them.

      Delete
  6. I prefer roasted chicken leg than turkey, not a turkey fans. :)
    Oh I like the colour of the vegetables, red green and yellow, so beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm also not a fan of turkey.. always find it a little boring.

      Delete
  7. This is one recipe i have been wanting to try for the longest time but still hv not gotten round to it aargghhhh...ok, MUST try for this christmas :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh you must! It's great with all sorts of marinade. :)

      Delete
  8. Love the roasted chicken. Both your kids are so gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Perfect for the season. Looks gorgeous

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Vimitha! The vegetables really add a lovely colour to this dish.

      Delete
  10. how..yummy it is...hot hot n spicy chicken/.....kids really enjoying na..
    BTW Iam back to blogging..plz visit my space n if gets sum time check out my new FB page dear.Thanks in advance..
    Maha

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hehe it's no wonder that your kids are so cute and smiley. They get to eat all of your delicious food! :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hehe I think their smiles are usually wider if it's something cute, something smells good or DESSERTS!

      Delete
  12. wow, your chicken maryland looks very good, a no fuss recipe and i think i will love its flavour too!

    ReplyDelete
  13. This roast chicken not only suitable to serve during Christmas , it can be served any day, because it is quick and yummy. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, we like to cook this when we're lazy. Cos just need to marinade then put in oven. :)

      Delete
  14. Bookmark done! I think I have to try it ... :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. I LOVE balsamic & this recipe looks & sounds delicious! And quick & easy recipe that I love! YUM! Gosh! I've not even think of my Xmas menu yet! To busy baking with Martha & Xmas goodies! LOL

    ReplyDelete
  16. I will prefer to have this juicy roasted drumstick than the turkey :P

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hi Baby Sumo, wow..... love this chicken dish, look awesome. You're a very good cook. :) 2 thumbs up for you.

    Have a wonderful week ahead,regards.

    ReplyDelete
  18. What will be the cooking time like if I use pumpkin instead of capsicum since I don't take that or any other alternative?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Mei, you can try this recipe for roasted pumpkin: http://goodyfoodies.blogspot.com/2012/10/happy-halloween-recipe-roasted-pumpkin.html

      Delete

Please drop any comments or questions you may have here. Thank you so much for reading!