Chicken and Carrot Toast Topper
- Savory
Golden seared chicken and sweet carrots piled onto toasted bread, with the pan juices soaked in. A quick open-faced lunch that uses every scrap of flavour.
- Total
- 25 min
- Prep 10 · Cook 15
- Serves
- 2
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Searing · Sautéing
Instructions
-
Pat the chicken breast dry with paper towel, then slice it across the grain into 1 cm strips. Season with half the salt and the black pepper.
~4 min
Drying the surface lets the chicken brown rather than steam, and salting now seasons the meat through before it hits the pan.
Slice the chicken across the grain, not lengthwise: short fibres stay tender through the fast sear instead of turning chewy.
-
Peel the carrots and coarsely grate them on the box grater.
~3 min
Grate the carrots coarsely rather than finely so they keep some bite and don't steam into a purée in the pan.
-
Heat 10 g of the extra virgin olive oil in the non-stick pan over medium-high heat until a carrot shred sizzles on contact. Lay the chicken strips in a single layer and sear without moving for 3 minutes, then turn and cook 2 to 3 minutes more, until browned and the thickest strip reaches 74°C/165°F. Lift the chicken onto a plate.
~6 min
A hot pan and an undisturbed sear build a browned crust through the Maillard reaction, which is where the savoury flavour comes from.
Searing Get the pan properly hot and leave the chicken undisturbed so a browned crust forms; moving it too soon steams the meat and it sticks.
-
Lower the heat to medium, add the remaining 5 g extra virgin olive oil and the grated carrots, and cook 4 to 5 minutes, stirring, until the carrots soften and smell sweet. Stir in the remaining salt.
~5 min
Medium heat softens the carrots gently so their sugars sweeten instead of scorching, and the salt draws out their flavour.
Sautéing Keep the grated carrots moving over medium heat so they soften evenly and sweeten without catching; lower the heat if they begin to brown.
-
Return the chicken and any juices from the plate to the pan with the carrots and toss for 1 minute so the strips are coated and hot through.
~1 min
The resting juices on the plate are concentrated flavour; tossing them back in coats the chicken and keeps it moist.
-
Toast the 50 g of bread until crisp and golden. Spoon the chicken and carrot mixture over the toast, dividing it evenly, and serve straight away.
~3 min
