It may be strange but I love brussel sprouts!  They are the most underrated vegetable out there.  I remember as a child everyone hating them and being forced to eat them on Christmas Day as some form of torture but as the years have gone on I have come to love them. We quite often have brussel sprouts as part of our evening meal and I steam or boil them but I fancied trying them in a different way.

Sprouts are amazing roasted with bacon too but since my recent trip to Italy I have had a new found love for Balsamic Vinegar. I have actually always hated vinegar but Italian balsamic vinegar has such a lovely sweetness to it which goes so well with roasted vegetables and salad.  The classic combination of beetroot and balsamic is always a winner so why not add in some sprouts too!

Ingredients

Serves 4

4 chicken breasts

4 slices of Serrano or Parma ham

12-15 sundried tomatoes depending on size

3 large handfuls of spinach

2 large beetroot

150g bag of Brussel sprouts

Balsamic vinegar

2 garlic cloves

Dried Rosemary

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

 

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180 C (fan).
2. Peel and chop the beetroot into bite sized chunks and place on a baking tray.
3. Drizzle with olive oil and add salt, pepper and some dried rosemary.
4. Roast for 25 minutes.
5. Prepare the sprouts by washing and removing the outer leaves then chop in half lengthways.
6. Add to the tray with the beetroot once it has cooked for 25 minutes and cook all together for a remaining 10 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.
8. Meanwhile, using scissors cut the chicken breast through the middle down the side until it almost reaches the other side to create a pocket.
9. Wilt the spinach in a pan.
10. Soak the sundried tomatoes in warm water to remove the oil or to rehydrate if they are dried.
11. Chop the sundried tomatoes and mix with the wilted spinach.
12. Stuff the mixture into the chicken breasts and wrap each one in a slice of serrano or parma ham.
13. Place the chicken breasts onto a baking tray and cover with foil.
14. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes then remove the foil and roast for a further 5-10 minutes until cooked through depending on the size of the chicken breasts.
15. Serve with the roasted beetroot and sprouts.