A zesty, one-pan dish for a super-easy, healthy midweek meal
- Serves: 6
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 1 hr
- Difficulty: easy
- Ideal for: midweek meal, easy meal
One-pan honey mustard chicken and greens
This is a lovely little recipe.
It’s quick, healthy and full of flavour.
The other great thing is you’ll have most of the ingredients in the cupboard.
And you can add whatever greens or veggies you want to add to the dish.
Try it today but my main piece of advice…
Buy organic or free-range chicken.
You may groan a little and say, it’s far too expensive.
But take a little read of the below research I’ve condensed for you and see if it helps change your mind (if you aren’t already buying high-welfare).
The chicken conundrum. What do I buy?
The big question when shopping is, organic, free-range, indoor, corn-fed chicken… what do I buy?
It’s no secret that chickens bred for industrial-scale production have been the worst off.
They have been reared the fastest and packed into huge sheds where they can’t move.
But things are changing and we are able to see how the bird has been reared with labels such as free-range or organic.
The thing is…. are they actually getting a better level of welfare?
What we do know, is that the flavour and nutritional value are improved.
The reality of farming chickens & different methods
We know that depending on what they are fed and the living conditions they are in, impact the taste of the chicken.
So, it all comes back to quality.
Quality of life equals the quality of meat.
Stress can make the meat taste dry and acidic.
And then there is the breed of poultry.
Some are bred to grow rapidly and others, like the Hubbard, are slow growers.
So, let’s take a look at the different terms used and what they really mean.
Organic, free-range, indoor, corn-fed chicken
Indoor
These chickens spend all their life indoors.
They are farmed on an industrial scale with the highest density of chickens (19 – 20 per m2)
They are killed at a young age to produce more tender meat that lacks flavour.
Sadly, 94% of the chickens raised in the UK are still intensively farmed.
Free-range
These chickens live longer.
And get access to the outdoors which means they have more protein.
But… although it sounds great, they only have limited time outside.
And sometimes many of them don’t even get outside due to the small ‘popholes’ they use to access it.
This means their stress levels can still be high as they spend a lot of time indoors and still have more chickens per m2 (13 – 15 per m2)
In the UK, only 8% of chickens are raised properly free-range.
Organic
This is the best way to raise chickens for their welfare and for overall flavour.
These chickens are usually bred on smallholdings.
They access the outdoors and have more space than any other farmed chicken (5 -12 birds per sq m).
And are slow-growing breeds and are fed a range of food.
Organic chickens have to be grown for at least 70 days which is more in line with how nature intended.
This means the chickens are actually healthier to eat, containing less saturated fat but higher omega-3 fatty acids, which are good for your heart.
Plus, they are only given antibiotics if really necessary.
In a nutshell, ‘organic’ is the highest rating for welfare standards.
The bad news… in the UK less than 2% of chickens raised are organic.
In conclusion…
The best way to ensure that you are always buying high-quality, high-welfare meat is to choose organic.
Recipe: The Modern Proper
For further info on animal welfare and the environment, visit here.
One-pan honey mustard chicken with greens
Ingredients
- 1 kg boneless, skinless chicken breast (organic or free-range)
- 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 olive oil
- 2 shallots, roughly chopped
- 450 g new potatoes (or any potatoes) cut into chunks
- 1 tbsp fresh rosemary, leaves cut nice and small
- 300 g green beans or any nice green veg you prefer
- cracked pepper to taste
Honey mustard sauce
- 1/4 cup whole grain mustard
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1/3 cup runny honey
- 1 tbsp cider vinegar
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190C/375°F.
- Season the chicken all over with salt. Heat the oil in a large ovenproof frying pan or deep dish, over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
- SAUCE: In a small bowl, combine the whole grain mustard, Dijon, honey, remaining ½ teaspoon of the salt, apple cider vinegar, paprika and garlic powder.
- Add olive oil to the frying, then add the shallots, potatoes, and rosemary and combine. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake, uncovered, for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes begin to soften.
- Remove the pan from the oven and add the green beans to the potato mixture, then nestle the chicken back in along with the juices from the plate. Pour the honey-mustard sauce over the chicken, green beans and potatoes and toss to coat.Return to the oven and bake until the green beans and potatoes are tender and the chicken cooked (71C), approx. 25-30 minutes.
Notes
