sheet-pan honey-roasted chicken, carrots, and brussels sprouts with tahini yogurt

long title, short recipe

Photos by Anna Routh Barzin

BOO!

Oh sorry, I have a toddler who is 1000% obsessed with Halloween, and I forgot that BOO isn’t an acceptable way to greet somebody.

HEY!

I have made honey-roasted carrots using this formula countless times over the past 10 years. The recipe was initially inspired by an Ottolenghi recipe, but I’ve bastardized it over the years and made it my own. I used to make them for a family that I made weekly meals for when we lived in Coronado, they’ve graced almost every Thanksgiving buffet that I’ve contributed to in the past decade, they’re a fantastic dinner party side dish, and they’re great for meal prep. I love this recipe.

So when my decision that it was time for another What To Cook sheet-pan chicken situation (the last one was the sheet-pan chicken with artichokes and potatoes from July, which you guys cooked like crazy!) lined up with my bi-monthly craving for honey-roasted carrots, my wheels started spinning. Chicken thighs roast at the same time and temperature as these carrots, so it was a perfect match. I also like to roast the absolute crap out of Brussels sprouts, so they got thrown into the mix as well.

As in Ottolenghi’s original honey-roasted carrot recipe, the chicken and veggies are served with a tahini yogurt sauce that will make you a tahini lover, if you aren’t one already.

ingredient spotlight

Let’s talk about TAHINI!

Tahini is basically sesame butter — it’s made 100% from ground sesame seeds, and has a lovely nutty flavor. If you love sesame seeds and sesame oil, you will love tahini.

It’s a staple in Middle Eastern food, but has roots in Asia as well. I first came to know and love tahini in 2011 or so when my deep obsession with Yotam Ottolenghi — an Israeli chef with restaurants all over London who has authored too many incredible cookbooks to count — began. During a trip to Israel in 2017, I tasted freshly ground tahini for the first time and my love was etched in stone, so much so that it plays a shining role throughout my cookbook, Just Married.

What else can you do with it?

• Salad dressing! Try swapping tahini in for peanut butter in this salad dressing, or for Dijon mustard in any vinaigrette recipe. This tahini dressing looks great too.

• Simple sauce: tahini + lemon juice + salt. The perfect drizzle over roasted veggies.

• Bake with it! Tahini chocolate chip cookies are very in right now.

• Make hummus! Traditional hummus is made from chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, and lemon juice.

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Photos by Anna Routh Barzin

honey-roasted chicken, carrots, and brussels sprouts with tahini yogurt

Serves 4

~50 minutes (10 minutes active, 40 minutes inactive)

Tools:

• Chef’s knife

• Medium bowl

• Large rimmed baking sheet (preferably a full sheet-pan; if unavailable, two halves)

• Parchment paper

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup honey

• 1/4 cup neutral cooking oil

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin

• 1 teaspoon paprika

• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

• 4 garlic cloves, minced

• 2 teaspoons kosher salt

• 1 1/2 to 2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

• 1 pound carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces on the bias

• 1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved

• 1/3 cup finely minced cilantro or parsley

Tahini Yogurt:

• 1/4 cup tahini

• Juice of 1 lemon

• 1 cup Greek yogurt

• 1 garlic clove, minced (or 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder if you’re feeling lazy)

• Kosher salt and pepper