Simple Chicken & Vegetable Dinner
Half a pound of potato, boiled until it practically falls apart. Chicken breast, browned and then simmered low with thick rings of leek, carrot slices, and onion wedges until everything is tender. Seven ingredients, 25 minutes, 451 kcal.
The move that makes this more than the sum of its parts: pull the chicken and vegetables out, then boil down the remaining pan liquid into a small, concentrated broth. Every bit of flavor the vegetables and chicken released is in that liquid. Pour it over everything in a deep bowl. That's dinner.
Half a pound of potato, boiled until it practically falls apart. Chicken breast, browned and then simmered low with thick rings of leek, carrot slices, and onion wedges until everything is tender. Seven ingredients, 25 minutes, 451 kcal.
The move that makes this more than the sum of its parts: pull the chicken and vegetables out, then boil down the remaining pan liquid into a small, concentrated broth. Every bit of flavor the vegetables and chicken released is in that liquid. Pour it over everything in a deep bowl. That's dinner.
Ingredients
- potato 0.5 pound
- leek 1
- onion 0.5
- carrot 1
- olive oil 1 tablespoon
- chicken breast 3 ounces
- water 1 tablespoon
Method
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Peel the potatoes and cut them into pieces. Boil the potatoes in water with some salt for 18-20 minutes until tender.
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Slice the leek into thick rings. Cut the onion into wedges and the carrot into slices.
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Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed pan and brown the chicken breast for 2 minutes. Add the vegetables and sauté briefly. Pour in water and cover, allowing the chicken and vegetables to simmer gently for about 15 minutes. If the mixture gets too dry, add some extra water. Season with salt and pepper.
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Remove the vegetables and chicken from the pan, setting them aside on a plate. Bring the remaining liquid to a boil until it reduces to a flavorful broth.
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Slice the chicken into wide pieces.
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Drain the potatoes and let them steam dry.
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Serve the chicken in a deep bowl with the broth, vegetables and boiled potatoes.
The recipe calls for just one tablespoon of water before covering the pan. That's deliberate. The leek, onion, and carrot release their own moisture as they cook, and the lid traps steam. Adding too much liquid at the start drowns out the natural vegetable flavors and leaves you with a watery broth instead of a concentrated one.
Why This Works
Behind this recipe
Can I use chicken thighs instead of breast?
Yes. Thighs have more fat (roughly 10g per 100g compared to about 3g in breast), so the macro profile shifts and the broth ends up richer. The simmering time stays the same. If you're keeping total fat low, trim the visible fat before browning.
Is 84 grams of chicken breast enough protein for dinner?
The chicken isn't working alone. The full meal delivers 26g of protein from all seven ingredients combined — the potato and vegetables contribute too. That works out to 23% of the meal's total energy from protein, which qualifies as high-protein under EU nutrition labeling rules.
Why boiled potatoes instead of roasted?
Beyond matching the recipe's timing, boiled potatoes happen to be one of the most filling foods ever measured. Researchers tested 38 different foods in equal-calorie portions and boiled potatoes scored 323 on the Satiety Index — over three times more filling than white bread. Boiling keeps the potato's water content high, which drives a large part of that effect. In a 451 kcal meal, that extra satiety from half a pound of boiled potato makes a practical difference.
Why does the recipe use only one tablespoon of water?
The vegetables release their own moisture as they cook. That single tablespoon creates enough initial steam under the lid to get the process started, and then the leek, onion, and carrot do the rest. The result is a concentrated pan liquid that reduces into a flavorful broth — something you'd lose if you started with a cup of water.
