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!