Another roast potato recipe for the repertoire. These are from Jamie at Home. But these are very different, perfect for a barbecue and a lovely, smoky, intoxicating flavour. You need to use a great big whack of balsamic and it’s going to get cooked the hell out of it, so use the cheapest you can. Watch out when you open the oven early on, the acrid whiff of boiling vinegar can really catch in the back of the throat. It’s a dead good recipe though, and a pleasant change from normal potatoes.
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Bring some potatoes to the boil and simmer for 8 minutes.
While the potatoes drain leave a little oil in a baking tray with the thyme and garlic in the oven to get warm. When your potatoes have drained add them to the baking tray with the onions. Drown in balsamic.
Roast for about 45 minutes, tossing every so often to coat all well. Season before serving.
I was keen to try out some Merchant Gourmet balsamic syrup I’d got hold of and chicken skewers seemed like just the thing. I marinated them for an hour and grilled them on each side. Unfortunately they were a little overdone and tough. It didn’t lend a lot of taste to the meat either – perhaps I should’ve basted again while cooking. A bit disappointing.
One the potatoes however it was smash – sweet and sharp, just the job.
Marinate the chicken breasts in the syrup for at least an hour.
Parboil the potatoes for ten minutes until knife tender. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Squish the potatoes slightly with the end of a rolling pin to open them up. Drizzle the potatoes in oil, season well with sea salt and coat with balsamic syrup. Place into the oven for 15 – 20 minutes until crisp.
Season the chicken and place under a hot grill. Cook on both sides until done. Serve with potatoes and sweet and sour peppers.
After the very successful chicken with chickpeas finished with balsamic vinegar, I thought I’d take a moment to talk about one of my favourite ingredients. I don’t remember hearing much about it pre-Jamie (late 90s) – though I suspect Sophie Grigson mentioned it as it’s very her. I definitely can’t imagine a larder without it now though; it’s a permanent staple in my house and swiftly restocked if I look like running out. I keep two varieties in the pantry: an everyman cheap bottle to go in sauces and stews where it’s going to cook for a long time, and more expensive one that I use as a dressing or finishing touch to a dish. That’s the one pictured above and it’s about £11 a bottle. It sounds expensive – and it is – but if you break it down it lasts me about nine months and in relation to the pleasure that this sticky, smoky, sweet, sharp liquid brings it’s terrific value for money.
Vinegar is generally made from fermenting something; barley for malt vinegar, wine for wine vinegar and so on. Balsamic is made from reduced grape juice, hence giving it it’s distinct and sought-after rich fruitiness. It’s widely accepted that the best is from Modena, so look for that for your first indicator that it’s good. The second stage is the wording. The phrase Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale is protected, meaning that’s the very best stuff and should be the one you’re looking for. Thirdly, look for the amount of aging. The longer it’s been aged, the more developed the flavour.
What to do with it? As a purist the very best I can do with it is to suspend a little in some excellent extra virgin olive oil, then dunk some fresh bread into the mix to soak up the rich blend. The oil will spread over the tongue, the sweetness will rush over it and be followed by the tangy edge that really makes it. Like good wine tasting, you pick up different fruited and herbal notes in different vinegars.
Beyond that, I think balsamic vinegar works well whenever you have something deep and sweet, often that’s a little spicy and been cooking a while. It’s natural friends are tomatoes and other mediterranean veg. Try sprinkling some over some griddled courgette, or paired with the classic insalata caprese. Or a whiz over a bolognese just before serving. It’s something that adds one final dimension or a touch of richness to a uniform dish.
It’s a superb condiment, and I certainly never leave it far from my pan. Here’s a few of my favourite things to do with it:
Yes, another recipe from Jamie Oliver’s book Jamie’s America. This one is a rich, moist chicken breast over a hearty and fiery chickpea stew. It sounds peasanty – and it is – but like most peasant foods is earthy and satisfying, and dead easy. I’ve used chicken breast with skin on as I want to give it time in the oven, and leaving the skin on retains moisture by allowing fat to drizzle through the meat. This prevents dry ‘orrible flesh. I’ve used tinned chickpeas ‘cos let’s be honest – who wants to soak chickpeas overnight?
The chicken breast was left to marinate before I went out for work in a mashed up blend of parsley, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Back from work a few hours later and it’s the turn of the chickpea. I sweat down an onion, two cloves of garlic and some paprika until soft, and then add four diced tomatoes, half a jar of sweet peppers and a tin of drained chickpeas.
While that simmers I turn my attention back to the chicken. I put it skin-side down on a hot griddle until dark lines appear, then turn 30 degrees to get that fancy criss-cross appear. When there’s more lines I turn them over and put the whole thing in a 200C oven for about 8 minutes. While that continues I look back over the chickpea stew, and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper and red wine vinegar. The chicken looks done now so I bring the chicken out to rest for a couple of minutes, to let all those tasty juices flow back through the breast.
To serve I pile some chickpeas up, top it with sliced chicken breast and few torn basil leaves over. At the last minute I reckon a drizzle of balsamic vinegar will help here, so I get out my best to sprinkle over. It goes really nice with the juicy chicken and peppery chickpeas. It’s a really tasty dinner and fairly easy too. I’ll be seeing this one on my plate again!
