Silvery? I know! It’s an unusual name for a supper, isn’t it?

I was so in the mood for a sheet pan dinner that night (it had been a long day, & my neck was acting up), but I wanted something a little different. I’d seen & impulse-bought some cute little Brussels sprouts & a nice small bunch of young beets at the grocery store, so I figured I’d toss those in, along with a couple of potatoes & an onion. But what to do for seasoning? I started with an open bottle of Oliva Dark Cherry Balsamic Vinegar. Then I poked around in my spice cupboard looking for something to go along with it. Open, sniff, sniff the balsamic, decide. What I wound up with surprised me a bit, but it works!

The flavors of this dish blend together smoothly and subtly; no one flavor dominates. It’s surprisingly delicious! My chief taste tester, who is quite good at identifying dinner ingredients, couldn’t pick these out. But I loved the poetry of his description of the flavor as “silvery,” and thus the name was born. You can substitute any dark balsamic vinegar, but I love the cherry for this. It adds an extra layer of flavor that would be hard to achieve otherwise. Regular size Brussels sprouts would work if you can’t find baby ones. Just cut them in halves or quarters so that they’re about the same size as the other vegetables. 

Like most sheet pan suppers, this one is simple & easy, and cleanup is a breeze. The one catch is the beets. When you work with fresh beets, the juice will stain your hands (and your clothes, or anything else it lands on). Now, you could just substitute another winter veggie like squash (which I tried the first time; it wasn’t one of my favorites), but the beet juice really brings the dish together. You could substitute golden beets, or you could just do what I do and pull on a pair of vinyl food service gloves. Problem solved! Sometimes I use parchment to line the sheet pan, but not with this recipe. Between the balsamic and the beet juice, there’s too much liquid for the parchment to contain. So either line with extra-wide foil, or plan on scrubbing your pan. You’ll find a printer-friendly version of the recipe below the nutrition label. 

Ingredients:

20 oz. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (my package had 5 thighs)

3 Tbsp Oliva Dark Cherry Balsamic Vinegar

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

½ tsp ground cardamom

½ tsp ground sumac

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 cup baby Brussels sprouts

4 small (2″) red beets

1 large onion

2 – 3 small redskin potatoes

Preparation:

1.) Preheat the oven to 425°F. Mix the cardamom & sumac with the balsamic in a large bowl. Set aside 2 tsp of the mixture in a small prep bowl.

2.) Drizzle the oil into the large bowl, whisking constantly. Trim any fat from the chicken, then add the chicken to the large bowl & turn to coat. Let it sit out on the counter while you prep the vegetables.

3.) Peel the beets, remove the stems, and cut into chunks about 1″ square. Scrub & trim the Brussels sprouts and the potatoes. Cut the potatoes into chunks, about the same size as the beets. Then peel the onion, halve it from top to bottom, and cut it into slices about ½” thick.

4.) Line a half-sheet pan with foil, and spread the chicken out on the pan. Put all the veggies in the large bowl, and toss to coat with the remaining mixture. Spread the veggies in a single layer on the pan, in between the chicken. Sprinkle the salt & pepper over everything. (This picture was from an earlier version, & doesn’t show the beets or the foil. They’re in the second pic.)

5.) Pop the pan in the oven, and roast for 20 minutes. Remove it briefly to baste just the chicken with the seasoned balsamic vinegar you set aside in the first step. Return the pan to the oven, and roast another 5 – 10 minutes until chicken is done.

6.) Be sure to drizzle any pan juices over the chicken to serve!