Maple and pepper glazed chicken with roasted carrots

A lovely meal to follow a very emotional day at James leavers assembly at school. I'm sure I wasn't the only one who was crying before it started, as Whitney Houston's "The Greatest Love of all" was playing whilst showing photos of all the year six children. I have to go through it all again tomorrow in a church service too. This is a recipe from Olive magazine a couple of years ago, bulk it out with some new or roast potatoes. I wish I'd done more roasted carrots they are so tasty.


Ingredients
3 carrots , quartered
olive oil
2 small, skinless chicken breasts
1 garlic clove, sliced
½ tbsp black peppercorns , coarsely ground
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
2 tbsp maple syrup
100ml chicken stock

Method
Heat the oven to 200C/fan. Toss the carrots in 2 tsp oil and season. Roast for 20-25 minutes until tender. Flatten the fat part of the chicken under some baking paper. The side of a rolling pin works well, or a heavy tin. Season the chicken.
Drizzle a non-stick frying pan with a little olive oil and put over a medium heat. Brown the chicken on both sides for a couple of minutes until golden, then remove. Add the garlic and pepper and cook for a minute. Add the vinegar and deglaze the pan. Add the maple syrup and stock, and simmer until syrupy, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken back to the pan and cook for another 5-6 minutes, turning to cook in the glaze. Serve with the carrots.