About this Recipe

By: Rachel

Celebrate the season with this one-pan chicken with spring vegetables. This dish is both light and satisfying, and brings fresh, tender spring flavors to your table.

Best of all, cooking and cleanup are easy, since everything comes together in one pan!

Bringing Fresh, Seasonal Flavors to Your Table

After a long, cold winter, I long for those first tastes of spring. Fresh, green asparagus; tender snap peas (and their companion, pea shoots); lemony sorrel, beguiling fiddleheads, crunchy radishes, creamy fava beans, and more. Since the season for so many of these delicacies ends quickly, I savor them as a rare treat when I finally get to enjoy them.

A Fresh Take on Passover and Easter Meals

Passover is a spring holiday, and usually falls during the month of April. Heavy dishes like brisket, kugel, and hot chicken soup with matzo balls are traditionally served at the seder, and I’m bewildered every time I see it. I never understand why Passover recipes so often hearken back to winter, rather than celebrating the advent of spring.

For the holidays of Passover or Easter, I prefer to see light, fresh spring dishes that celebrate the best produce of the season. This one-pan dish works beautifully as a Passover spring chicken recipe, or for Easter dinner.

I’ve included many of my favorite vegetables in this dish, but don’t worry if you can’t find them all. Just head to your local farmers’ market and choose the freshest ingredients that catch your eye and appeal to your palate. With its bright flavors and colorful presentation, I hope this Chicken with Spring Vegetables finds a place at your Passover or Easter table this year.

Tips for Cooking Chicken with Spring Vegetables

A few simple tips and substitutions can make this one-pan chicken with spring vegetables even more delicious and adaptable to what’s in season. Keep these in mind before you start cooking:

Mushrooms should be brushed clean of any dirt, and (almost) never washed. The exception is morels, which trap dirt and bugs in their nooks and crannies. Cut them in half, soak them in salt water, and rinse once again before using to rid them of dirt and bugs.

Passover note: Peas (though not pea shoots!) are considered kitniyot, so check with your kosher guests before serving at your Passover table. To make this dish kosher, be sure to purchase kosher chicken, and swap the butter for olive oil.

Pea shoots are the delicate leaves of the pea plant. They may also be labeled as pea tendrils or pea tips, and are typically available at Asian markets (Usually for a far lower price; I purchased these for $2.99/lb at my local Asian market. Comparatively, my local co-op had them on sale for $2.50/per two ounces). If unavailable, you can substitute another spring green like sorrel, baby bok choy, or baby spinach.

Beverage Pairing

By: Olivia

Violet Wine loves to introduce customers to lesser-known regions, grapes, and wines. It’s the best way for wine lovers to convert others to our obsession. A light chicken dish with lovely, fresh spring vegetables is the perfect meal to pair with crisp white wines. From the Iberian Peninsula, consider exploring Verdejo, grown almost exclusively in Spain, or Albariño/Alvarinho from Spain and Portugal, respectively. Verdejo can be crisp and citrusy with hints of almond and grass. Albariño offers more rich fruit flavors with zippy acidity and a touch of salinity. If you want slightly bigger white wine options, hop over to Italy. Vermentino from Sardinia is refreshing with minerality and a subtle bitterness. Winegrowers in Umbria and Lazio in Central Italy most often cultivate Grechetto, which provides a fuller body and crisp acidity.

Chicken with Spring Vegetables

This spring chicken dish is light and flavorful, highlighting the best produce of the season. I hope it finds its way to your table this spring.

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Ready In 45

Meal Type Main Dish

Good For American, Seasonal

Yield servings

Equipment

Ingredients

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 medium spring onions halved or quartered
1 cup (100g) wild mushrooms such as morels, chanterelles, or hen of the woods; I used chestnut mushrooms
½ pound (225g) fresh asparagus sliced diagonally into bite-sized pieces
1 cup (100g) snap peas sliced in half diagonally
2 cups (180g) pea shoots or other spring greens
1 cup (250mL) dry white wine
1 cup (250mL) chicken stock

Step by Step Instructions

Step 1

In a large, wide, heavy skillet that has a cover, heat the oil over medium heat. As the pan heats, season the chicken thighs on both sides with salt and pepper.

Step 2

Add the chicken thighs to your skillet, working in batches as necessary. Cook for 5-7 minutes on one side. When well-browned, turn and cook for 4-5 minutes on the other side.
Transfer to a large serving dish, and set aside. Do not clean the pan.

Step 3

Turn the heat to medium-high. Add the butter to the pan, and add the onions and mushrooms. Season lightly with salt, and cook for 3-5 minutes. Toss with a spatula a few times to ensure the vegetables do not stick as they brown.
Add the asparagus and snap peas, season lightly with salt, and sautė for up to 1 minute.

Step 4

Lower the heat to medium-low. Add the pea shoots, cover, and cook for 1 minute. Remove cover, and toss to combine.
The asparagus and peas should be bright green and crisp-tender. If they are, transfer the contents of the pan to the serving dish with the chicken; if not, sautė for a further 1-2 minutes.

Step 5

Return the pan to the burner, increase the heat to medium-high, and deglaze the pan with the wine. Cook for 1-2 minutes, then add the stock and simmer for 2 minutes more.

Step 6

Spoon a bit of jus into a low bowl for each guest, then add vegetables and chicken. If desired, grate a little lemon zest over each serving for an added taste of spring.