Description
A healthy delicious sheet-pan dinner, that features the best of spring produce! Make it in 30 minutes with minimal clean up. Vegan adaptable, GF and paleo!
Ingredients
- 2 lemons
- 1/ 4 cup olive oil
- 4–6 garlic cloves, finely minced ( or use a garlic press)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1-ounce package of fresh tarragon leaves, rough chopped, about 1/4–1/3 cup
- 1 extra-large bunch asparagus, trimmed (about 1 1/2 pounds)
- 1–2 large leeks, sliced into 1/2 inch thick rounds ( if dirty, rinse, see notes)
- 1 1/2–2 lbs chicken breasts (boneless, skinless), cut in half, or sub tofu, or chicken thighs, see notes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F
- In a small bowl, make the marinade. Add the zest of one lemon, and its juice (about 3 tablespoons) in a small bowl. Add olive oil, garlic, dijon mustard, salt, and pepper, and mix well until salt dissolves. Add ½ of the fresh tarragon, saving the rest for garnish.
- In a medium bowl, place the trimmed asparagus, and spoon a little of the marinade over the top. Toss to coat and place them on a large parchment-lined sheet pan. Add the leeks to the same bowl, toss them with a little marinade, and spread them out on the sheet pan. If using tofu, season it with salt, then place it in the bowl, adding a little more marinade, tossing to coat, and adding to a sheet pan.
- Lastly, add the halved chicken breasts with the remaining marinade, coating well. Nestle the chicken amongst the asparagus. (Cutting the chicken in half will help it cook faster, more in line with the asparagus.)
- Zest the second lemon over the whole pan and slice the lemons into rounds, layering them over the asparagus. Place in the hot oven. Note: If using tofu, either nestle it into one side of the pan or place it on a separate sheet pan – up to you.
- Bake 15 minutes and check the asparagus and chicken. Continue cooking until the chicken’s internal temperature reads 160-165°F , keeping in mind that thicker pieces will take longer. You may need to remove the asparagus. To get a more golden color, broil for just a couple of minutes.
- Remove from the oven. Give everything a little toss, turning the chicken over to coat the top with the flavorful juices. Sprinkle with remaining fresh tarragon and serve.
Notes
TOFU: Use extra firm tofu. Pat dry. Slice into ¾-1 inch thick slabs, season with a little salt and coat on all sides with marinade. For mixed households, serve both tofu and chicken! (Marinade is enough for 1.5 lbs chicken + 8 ounces tofu and the veggies.)
ASPARAGUS: The thickness of the asparagus and the chicken may affect cooking time. Here I’m using pencil-thick asparagus and 6-ounce chicken breasts (relatively thin and small). If your sizing differs greatly, you could use two separate baking sheets. Very thin asparagus cooks in 12-15 minutes- so check it.
CHICKEN: You can also use skin-on, bone-in thighs. Sear the skin side first in a skillet, then nestle in the sheet pan. This will most likely require a longer cooking time, as asparagus may need to come out of the oven sooner. Therefore, either place it to one side or on a separate pan.
LEEKS: If the leeks are dirty when you slice them into rounds, not to worry. Just place the cut rounds into a bowl of water, gently swish and soak them for a few minutes. The dirt will fall to the bottom. Fish them out, pat dry. (They don’t need to be perfectly dry.)
If cooking for two – you could easily half the chicken and double/ or triple the asparagus. (We do this a lot at home.) You could also marinate the chicken/tofu ahead, overnight if you like.
Serve with (all optional):
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 326
- Sugar: 2.7 g
- Sodium: 939.5 mg
- Fat: 17.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 7.5 g
- Fiber: 3.4 g
- Protein: 35.2 g
- Cholesterol: 103.4 mg