I am not a very confident cook. So when I make a recipe for the first time I follow it. I might change flavours or do minor tweaks but generally I stick to it. So when I made the Tarragon Chicken from Laura Calder’s French Food at Home
But I restrained myself and made it again, this time with a few changes so the sauce turned out perfectly and creamy. So yes, this has been modified and it will work. Thanks to my good friends over at chowhound.
This is also my entry for this week’s Weekend Herb Blogging hosted over at Archana’s Kitchen. I went to three different grocery stores to find Tarragon because I was in the city without my garden. So trust me here, the tarragon makes it. Though I am sure other herbs would also be excellent.
(serves 2)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 chicken thighs, skin on, bone in
salt and pepper
⅔ cup white wine
1 shallot, finely chopped
¾ cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons fresh tarragon, chopped
lemon juice, to taste
Melt the butter and oil over a skillet with a cover over medium high heat. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper and brown all over. About 5 minutes a side. Turn the heat down to medium, cover and cook until tender about 30 minutes. Remove the chicken and keep warm.
Pour off the excess fat and leave approximately a teaspoon in the pan. Deglaze the pan with the wine using a wooden spoon to scrape up the brown bits from the pan. Add the shallot and boil for 5 minutes. The wine should be almost fully reduced. Remove the pan from the heat and add the cream and half the tarragon. Return to the heat on a gentle simmer and reduce down again for another 3 to 5 minutes.
Season to taste with salt and pepper and then remove from heat and add the lemon juice. Add the chicken back in and turn to coat. Transfer to a plate or serving dish and pour the sauce over the chicken. Sprinkle with the remaining tarragon and serve.
Tags: French Food, Chicken, Herbs, Comfort Food
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Sounds delicious, and fun seeing how Chowhound helped get it just right.
I love fresh tarragon! Too bad you don’t live by me, I have tons of it.
Comfort food … yum! I haven’t used tarragon for a while, but you can bet I’ll be using it to make this! Yum!
I’ve only tried tarragon once, and I didn’t really care for it. Maybe I need to try it again in this dish and it will change my mind!
This brings back such beautiful memories: mom used to grow tarragon and we always had it fresh. I can still smell it
Your tarragon chicken looks delish and I’m glad that in the end you got the creaminess you were looking for.
I have been craving Tarragon Chicken for too long. This looks scrumptious!
Tarragon is a great addition to any recipe!
I am not a very confident cook
Tarragon was made for chicken! I really need to use chicken thighs more often… I’m stuck in a rut with breasts!
Wow I think making this definitely defines you as a confident cook!! It looks professional…And I am very big on tarragon
Looks lovely, Katrina. I’m growing tarragon in my garden this year and will definitely be giving this a try with my very own herbs.
hi K,this recipe 2 sounds gr8. here u cook d chickn thighs for 30mins,whereas u cook them for 13mins in your other recipe(chkn thighs wid herbs-white wine)Pls clarify why d diff. in cookin time.
Also, what cup size do u mean (for the cream)– here in india,1 cup usually means 150ml. but do u mean d american cup of 200ml?pls respond asap.thnx.
Hi Shobhini – the big difference here is bone-in versus boneless. This greatly increases the cooking time. That said, because size varies please use my times as guidance only. There are several ways to tell if chicken is done, the easiest is probably a thermometer but you can also cut into the chicken and see if the juices run clear.
I usually mean one “american” cup which is somewhere between 237-250ml. 250 is probably the best measurement to use.