My mom used to make this exceptional dish regularly when I was a child and I still remember licking my saucy plate when nobody was looking. It was that good. And I was that shameless when it came to delicious food.
Tarragon is not a commonly used herb in the Middle East but you can find it here and there in the dried herb section. It has a very subtle anise / licorice taste that marries very well with fatty fish like salmon, meat and poultry like in this recipe, where it totally permeates the creamy sauce and brings chicken to another dimension.
Over the years, my husband and I (we still argue on whose specialty this is…..) have made “Poulet à l’estragon” loads of times for quaint dinner parties and I promise you, everyone is going for seconds. Very easy to make ahead of time, we like serving it with sautéed potatoes but it also works wonderfully with on a bed of fluffy rice.
Serves 5
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp ghee, olive oil or butter
- 1 kg organic chicken thighs, skinned and deboned (you could keep the bones on)
- 2-3 tbsp gluten free flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1/3 cup (80ml) of whiskey or cognac (optional)
- 4 – 5 cups chicken broth
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2-3 tbsp dried tarragon or a small handful of fresh, chopped tarragon
- 1/2 cup heavy cream or creme fraiche
Instructions
- Heat a large sauce pan on medium heat. Melt butter and add the onion, garlic, chicken pieces one by one. Sprinkle lightly with the flour and salt. Sauté on all sides until the meat is seared but not cooked, around 2 to 3 minutes.
- (optional) Add the whiskey and flambe with a lighter. Let the whiskey reduce and flame disappear.
- Add chicken broth until the chicken is just barely covered with it. Let simmer until the chicken is cooked through, around 15-20 minutes if the chicken is deboned, 20+ minutes otherwise. Set aside and let cool around 15 minutes.
- Take the cooked chicken pieces out and reduce the liquid until it thickens slightly (ie. until it isn’t totally watery, it needs to feel thicker than brothe but more liquid than thick cream)
- Pour this liquid (and cooked onions, etc) into a blender and blitz until smooth
- Pour back into large pan under medium heat, whisk in mustard, let simmer for a minute, then taste and adjust salt and pepper seasoning. Add tarragon and simmer for another minute.
- Mix in the cream and then put the cooked chiken back into the pan. Spoon the sauce over the chicken while it continues to simmer a few minutes.
- Serve over rice or potatoes
