Hey, foodies in the Hive!
How's your Sunday going? Mine has been hectic, not an ideal Sunday if you ask me, but I'm here about to post my recipe for baked chicken with carrot in a light tomato sauce, and I feel finally at ease. I might take a nap after this; Sunday naps are the most delicious ones, don't you think? But first, chicken 😋
Normally, sweet and sour sauces have an intense flavor and color; this is not exactly the case of the sauce in this recipe.
This recipe has a sweet and sour delicate "touch" that's very pleasant to the palate. Tender. But although it's not at all intense in its sweet and sour notes, it has a couple of twists that give it a different intensity that can delight the good baked chicken eater: capers and lemon zest.
You won't be needing much for a side. However, since it's a very juicy dish, it should be accompanied by something to dip, such as rice, root vegetables, or even pasta. I served it with mashed potatoes and ripe avocado. There was alos a piece of leftover toasted cassava cake.
INGREDIENTS
- about 1kg clean chicken thighs with its skin
- 2 cups julienned onion
- 3/4 cups julienned green bell pepper
- 2 cups carrot, sliced
- 1/4 cups garlic cloves, peeled & flattened
- 3 cups fresh tomato
- 2 spoonfuls capers
- 1 spoonful prepared mustard
- 1/4 cup cane honey (I used homemade)
- 4 tablespoons white vinegar
- 2 spoonfuls lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon freshly cracked black pepper
- enough salt and olive oil
- your favorite sides for juicy chicken 😋
THE PROCESS
Wash the thighs, leave some of the skin on, and make some slits so that the marinade can better impregnate the meat.
Wash the carrots, onions, and green bell pepper. You can leave the carrot skin on; I usually do but this time, I removed it.
Cut the carrot into half slices about 3 millimeters wide. I cut the onions into thick julienne strips, the green pepper into thin, small julienne strips.
These vegetables will be the bed for our baked chicken. Place a baking dish with olive oil, put the vegetables in it and mix them so that they are covered with the oil. Add salt to taste.
Peel the garlic cloves and crush them by pressing with your hand on the blade of the knife, so the blender blades will not miss them. Cut the tomato into pieces that your blender can process effortlessly.
Finally, take a couple of tablespoons of capers and a good spoonful of mustard. All this will be blended together...
... with cane honey, white vinegar, and a teaspoon of salt. These last ingredients make the sweet & sour effect.
Time for the chicken thighs!
Place the thighs on the vegetable bed, skin side up.
Then drizzle with olive oil and top with the lemon zest and freshly cracked black pepper mixture. Next, pour in the vegetable marinade; make sure to cover all the chicken.
It's now time to take the tray to the oven.
I baked it in my small electric oven for 90 minutes at 300° F. When an hour had passed, I turned the thighs over so that they browned on the underside.
It is a very juicy and aromatic chicken, but in order to enjoy it one hundred percent, we must let it cool a little. Half an hour will be fine and when you taste it, you will see that it is well worth the wait.
While it cooled, I had time to mash the potatoes and slice one ripe avocado.
As you can see, this baked chicken thighs have a light but substantious tomato sauce. And you've seen how easy it is to prepare.
As always, I hope this post was useful 😁❤️