Baby Bites Yoghurt and Paprika Grilled Chicken with Sweet Potato Crispies

This is a really lovely and simple dish and one that you can enjoy too - you can just ramp up the heat a little by adding fresh or dried chillies to your marinade.

Yoghurt marinade in any form is great for tenderising meat and works beautifully with chicken. The sweet potato crispies are like an oven baked chip and could be served with a little portion of dip such as tzatziki or tomato dipping sauce and make a brilliant finger food.

I served this with peas as they are Bridget's favourite despite taking a hell of a long time to eat them all individually! You could of course serve with whatever vegetable you have to hand.

I use 1 half of a chicken breast fillet but you could do the whole breast and use the remaining chicken for a lunchtime or dinner time meal the next day.

Also since introducing finger foods, I tend to do a little more than what I expect Bridget to eat - this is to account for the food she will inevitably just play with and explore and of course those bits that will christen the floor rather than Bridget's tummy. 

Here's how:

• 1 half of chicken breast
• 1 heaped tbsp natural yoghurt
• 1/2 clove garlic
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• Pinch of black pepper
• Squeeze of lemon (if no fresh lemons are available a Jif lemon would do it)
• 1 small sweet potato
• Handful of frozen peas
• Drizzle of olive oil

Firstly make the yoghurt marinade by combining the yoghurt, paprika, pepper, oregano and lemon juice into a bowl and stirring through with the half of garlic clove crushed in too.

With the halved chicken fillet, make three slight incisions / slashes on each side with a sharp knife - this will help the marinade to permeate through the meat and keep it moist and tasty.

Place the chicken into the bowl with the marinade and using a tablespoon move the chicken around and turn over to ensure each part of the breast is coated. Pop into the fridget for 1 hour. (If you are short on time then reduce the marinating time, but try to leave for at least 20-30 minutes if possible)

Remove the chicken from the fridge and leave to bring down to room temperature and in the meantime boil the kettle and peel the sweet potato. Then slice the potato into thin discs, around the thickness of a £2 coin. Wash and then place into a small saucepan and top up with the boiling water and place onto a medium heat.

Cook for about 8 minutes then drain completely, return to the pan and place back on the heat for 5 seconds to rid the potato of any remaining water.

Now pop the potato discs into an oven proof dish, drizzle with olive oil, season with black pepper and place into the oven for 20-25 minutes until crisp.

Place some foil onto your grill to prevent too much mess and then place the chicken on top. Pop the grill onto the medium setting and allow to cook. You'll be able to see the chicken turning white to signal it's cooked through - but it shouldn't take more than fifteen minutes. You want the meat cooked through thoroughly with a slight char on the outside but want to avoid the meat becoming over done, chewy and dry.

After seven or eight minutes under the grill turn over to cook the other side and after the fifteen (will depend on size of meat), it should be cooked through. Test by cutting into the meat - there should be no pink or redness inside, and any juices should run clear.

Once satisfied the chicken is cooked through, cover with foil and allow to rest and cool for five minutes, and meanwhile place the peas on to cook.

Slice the chicken into manageable chunks or slices and pop onto the plate. Remove the sweet potato crispies and place onto a plate with some kitchen roll to remove any excess grease or oil then add to baby's plate. Drain the peas and dish up - and watch baby enjoy.