A Glazed Carrots and Chicken Dinner

that's sweet and spicy, fresh and flirty, and ready in less than thirty minutes.

Hi!

I’ve been on a glazed carrot kick this spring. When I want a cozy and comforting side that isn’t potatoes they are always an easy answer. I make them with just butter, salt and water, skipping the pinch of white sugar I was taught to add at my French culinary school. Glazed carrots were one of the first things I had to cook in culinary school. I practiced until I knew by feel just how much water was needed to cover the carrots so they cooked through (but didn’t overcook!) in the exact amount of time that it takes the water to evaporate, leaving behind a shiny glaze of butter. No browning or caramelization was allowed—they had to be pulled off the stove the moment the water was gone.

That’s me in culinary school back in 2013. I was always getting in trouble for the fact that my hair was coming out of my little white cap.

Eleven years later, I’m back at it again. Jack can never have enough carrots! But then the other week on my neverending quest to get dinner cooked in fewer pans, I wondered if I could glaze chicken and carrots at the same time. I love cooking chicken with what I call the braise and glaze method, braising it a liquid that evaporates down to a thick shiny sauce. So I figured, why not combine the two. Chicken breast cubes cook faster than carrots, so you have to start the carrots in advance, but once I had that down, it worked great. I added some honey and Korean gochujang to my cooking liquid so the sauce that ends up glazing the chicken and carrots has a slightly sweet spicy kick to it. And a really fun bright color.

To balance the glazed chicken and carrots, I top it off with crunchy sliced sugar snap peas and a bunch of fresh mint. And that’s dinner! It’s refreshing, it’s colorful, it’s nourishing, and it’s just the thing for spring! I hope you enjoy!

Here’s the recipe: