Skip to main content

Sweet-and-Sour Chicken Thighs with Carrots

4.2

(267)

Image may contain Food Dish Meal and Pork
Sweet-and-Sour Chicken Thighs with CarrotsRomulo Yanes

The Ashkenazic and Sephardic traditions feature dishes with sweet-and-sour combinations such as honey and lemon. Serve this chicken with potatoes or matzo farfel, and you've got a great meal.

Recipe information

  • Total Time

    1 1/4 hr

  • Yield

    Makes 4 to 6 main-course servings

Ingredients

8 small chicken thighs with skin and bone (2 1/2 to 2 3/4 lb total), trimmed of excess fat
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 teaspoons paprika
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, halved lengthwise, then cut lengthwise into1/4-inch-wide strips
1 lb carrots (6 medium), cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons mild honey
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Pat chicken dry. Stir together 1 1/2 teaspoons salt with paprika, cinnamon, and pepper and rub onto chicken.

    Step 2

    Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown chicken in 2 batches, turning over once, about 10 minutes per batch. Transfer chicken as browned to a plate.

    Step 3

    Discard all but 3 tablespoons fat from skillet, then add onion and carrots. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened and beginning to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, 1 minute.

    Step 4

    Return chicken, skin sides up, to skillet, nestling it into vegetables. Stir together water, lemon juice, and honey until blended and add to skillet, then cook over moderately low heat, covered, until chicken is cooked through and carrots are tender, 25 to 30 minutes. If necessary, skim fat from sauce, then add salt to taste. Sprinkle with herbs just before serving.

Read More
Country-style lemonade with a salty-tangy twist.
No grill needed for this just-charred-enough sweet and spicy chicken.
A flurry of fresh tarragon makes this speedy weeknight dish of seared cod and luscious, sun-colored pan sauce feel restaurant worthy.
Loosely inspired by pasta Amatriciana, a few pounds of zucchini stand in for tomatoes.
A summer side with main dish energy.
Salami, provolone, olives, pickled peppers—need we say more?
Stir-frying slices makes this dinner doable on any given night.
Raw zucchini has never tasted better.