This isn’t authentic jerk chicken by any stretch of the imagination! It is, however, a very good approximation of it which neatly bypasses hours of marinading and the terrors of handling scotch bonnet chillis.

Surprisingly, this recipe comes from a fairly old WeightWatchers program book. It was one of the few recipes that cheered me up when I first dieted as it wasn’t at all bland! The combination of hot and spicy chicken works very well with the smooth sweetness of roasted sweet potatoes and the addition of rosemary to the potatoes really is inspired! Admittedly I adore rosemary, but it really does bring out the sweetness of the potatoes even more than mere roasting alone. The garlicky mangetout complements the chicken perfectly and is also pretty hot stuff. It’s also a nice side-dish for a multitude of other meals.

Beware though, the spice rub is surprisingly hot (despite not containing any chilli)! The first time you make the chicken I’d advise scraping off some of the rub before baking unless you like things really hot….

Jerk Chicken with Sweet Potatoes and Garlicky Mangetout, adapted from a WeightWatchers recipe

Serves 2
WW points (UK): 8

2 medium sweet potatoes
4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary

2 medium skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
250g mangetout (or sugar snap peas if you prefer those)

Preheat oven to Gas Mark 6 (200C).
Peel and cube the sweet potatoes and toss with the oil and chopped rosemary. Tip onto a baking tray (I use a swiss roll tin) and roast for 10 minutes.

Whilst the potatoes are in the oven, mix the cider vinegar with the herbs and seasoning (vinegar through to pepper) and rub this all over the chicken. The mixture will be fairly runny.
Take the tray from the oven and add the chicken breasts. If you like your chicken spicy then leave all the rub on the chicken, otherwise scrape off as much as possible as the jerk rub is quite fierce! I usually put all the left-over marinade on my chicken breast as I like it eye-wateringly hot!! Put back in the oven and cook for another 25 minutes. (Cooking time is a total of 35 minutes.)

Towards the end of the cooking time, heat a medium non-stick frying pan over moderate heat. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli flakes and saute for about 3 minutes until fragrant and golden. Tip in the mangetout and stir fry over a high heat for 3 minutes until tender and glossy.