Balsamic Chicken Thighs, Roasted Baby Potatoes & A Delicious Rocket Salad

This mid-week, yes, mid-week, I made a delicious dinner of balsamic and garlic chicken with roasted baby potatoes served with a tasty rocket and tomato salad. For a mid-week dinner, that's pretty snazzy. The original recipe, which inspired this dish can be found on the XhenetiX recipe website. Mine uses a little less ingredients as I am cooking for the whole family, all of whom have their own personal tastes and particular little buds.

It was altogether a very light and filling meal. The balsamic and garlic marinade worked a treat, not just because garlic is my favourite seasoning and flavour enhancer; it had more to do with the fact that the tangy taste of the vinegar was a little revival of a flavour which I rather quite enjoyed a few years back but had lost the taste for it during my last pregnancy with my son, Drayven.

I think there might be a few more potential dishes on the horizon intended for a balsamic celebration. I promise you, it's really great with salads! And as for the potatoes, I just love potatoes... Seriously one of my favourite starches, you can do so much to dress them up and they very readily add that finishing and complimentary touch to your table.

For these awesomely roasted baby potatoes, you will need:

• 1kg Baby New Potatoes, skin on
• Pinch of salt
• Sprinkle of black pepper
• Sprinkle of fresh and dried basil
• Olive oil

Baby Spuds: The best roast baby potatoes.

Add your spuds to a large pot and cover with water, bring to the boil and let them cook for roughly ten minutes or just so that they are cooked enough to be squeezed down under your thumb because that is precisely what you will need to do next. Once ready, drain the water and lay the spuds on a baking tray lined with parchment paper for baking. Now, get your thumbs (or the balls of your palm) ready and squash them down a little, just enough to gently open the skins. Drizzle them with a little olive oil, sprinkle with some sea salt, black pepper and dried basil (I'm using basil but please feel free to use any herb of choice, they are all fantastic, it really just depends on what takes my preference at the time). Bake in the oven for twenty minutes and then turn, baking for another ten. take them out of the oven and garnish with some fresh basil (delicious to nibble on with the rest of the meal).

Okay, so here's what you'll need for the balsamic glazed chicken:

• 1kg Chicken thighs, skin removed and any excess fat
• 6 cloves of garlic, crushed or minced
• 1 cup of balsamic vinegar
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• Olive oil

End Product: Balsamic chicken with a beautiful green salad.

To make the marinade simply mix together the balsamic vinegar, garlic and chicken thighs together in a seal-proof bag - really blend the ingredients together by rubbing the garlic and liquid into the creases of the meat and - for best results - leave overnight in the fridge (but an hour or two will also suffice).

In a pan or wok and on a medium heat, cook the chicken (in its marinade) in a little olive oil, cooking gently whilst adding some cayenne and sea salt. Cover the pan and simmer until cooked in the centre, making sure to turn the pieces regularly.

Serve your chicken alongside the baby potatoes with a side of rocket leaves. You can add chard leaves, spinach, various coloured plum tomatoes and whatever raw salad vegetables come to mind.

A Great Tip for Salad Dressing:

Mix together in a bowl some extra virgin olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice, minced garlic, black pepper and a little salt! Reserve as a side dressing for salads of all kinds. To be honest, salads don't always need a dressing, I haven't used one in the image above as the tomatoes provided a wonderful sweetness all on its own.

Feast away.