Chicken Breasts with Vegetables (Sebzeli Tavuk)

This chicken dish came together one night when I threw a bunch of ingredients I had on hand together for a dinner. Most of my cooking involves throwing things together unless it is for a specific recipe that I want to publish in my blog or for company. Working full time and cooking after a long day of work is not an easy thing and we prefer fresh, home-cooked meals, therefore I usually just make up a quick meal (max 30 minutes) on weekdays with the ingredients in my fridge and pantry. Also, I rarely have a grocery list when I go to the grocery store, so whatever looks fresh and appealing that day ends up in my shopping cart and then my fridge. Most of these quick 30 minute meals usually are not Turkish, however may be inspired by Turkish/Mediterranean cooking. This chicken recipe is inspired by Mediterranean cuisine and certainly took longer than 30 minutes to prepare, however it tasted really good. So it made the list of recipes to be published.

Before we get to the recipe, I would like to share that my next post will be the GIVEAWAY! One lucky winner will get a nice prize!

Now, here is the recipe.

3 bone-in chicken breasts
2 yellow potatoes (diced thick)
2 carrots (sliced thick)
1 red pepper (sliced lengthwise)
1 bunch green onions (cut thick)
5-6 cremini mushrooms (quartered)
½ cup parsley (chopped)
2 ½ tsp salt
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried rosemary
½ tsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
Juice of ½ lemon

Heat olive oil on medium heat in a large pot. Place the chicken breasts and sprinkle half of salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika, cumin, oregano and rosemary on top. Cook for 5 minutes without cover. Turn the chicken breast over and sprinkle the rest of the salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika, cumin, oregano and rosemary. Cook for 5 minutes. Squeeze the half lemon on top of the chicken breasts. Add the potatoes and stir so that the spices integrate with the potatoes. Let it cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the mushrooms, carrots, red peppers. Give it a stir and cover lid. Turn heat down to low and cook covered for 35-40 minutes. Turn off stove and uncover the pot. Stir in the green onions. Turn on the oven broiler and place the pot in the middle rack with the chicken on sitting on top of the vegetables. Broil about 8-10 minutes on each side until the chicken get a golden color. Remove from broiler and stir in the chopped parsley. Serve with rice and/or flat bread.