Sautéed Chicken with Tarragon Sauce and Skinny Fr...
I usually work on Saturday but fortunately I don’t start until the afternoon. That means I have just enough time to watch Saturday Morning Kitchen and the lovely James Martin. A few weeks ago he prepared this dish. Instantly I knew what we would be having for dinner that night. In fact we love this so much we have had it every week since. It is warm and comforting – perfect for these cold, blustery winter nights. It also has a few of my favourite ingredients in it: Mushrooms, Chicken, Cream, and Tarragon! What’s not to like?
It’s probably for the best that we are not in possession of a deep fat fryer. The combination of my desire to attempt to deep fry every chocolate bar known to mankind and my accident-proneness make the idea of owning such a device more than a little scary. Using oven chips makes this an even easier, but no less tasty, dish to prepare.
In fact this is exactly what I am making for dinner tonight – my mouth is already watering! Oh, while watching the show the addition of the egg yolks was explained as adding richness to the dish and helping to slightly thicken the sauce. In fact the sauce is so good I guarantee you’ll be tempted to lick the plate!
Sautéed Chicken with Tarragon Sauce and Skinny Fries courtesy of James Martin and the BBC Food website
Ingredients
For the chicken
1 Tbsp vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
50g butter
4 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless, cut into chunks
2 shallots, finely sliced
125g pearl or baby onions
125g baby button mushrooms (I used chestnut mushrooms which I cut into thirds)
200ml white wine (plus an extra glass to drink while cooking 🙂 )
300ml chicken stock
150ml double cream
2 free-range egg yolks
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tsp fresh tarragon finely chopped (I used dried tarragon and kept the measurements about the same – but taste as you add it as it does have a strong flavour)
For the Fries
4 large chipping potatoes, peeled and cut into fine chips
vegetable oil, for deep frying
sea salt to taste
OR
you can used oven ready chips and just pop them in the oven and cook according to package directions
Directions
For the chicken: heat a frying pan until medium-hot. Add the oil, half the butter and the chicken and fry until golden-brown and nearly cooked through (approx 3-4 minutes)
Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside. Add the shallots to the pan and gently fry for 2-3 minutes until translucent
Increase the heat and add the remaining butter, pearl/baby onions and mushrooms. Cook for 2-3 minutes until golden-brown
Add the white wine and cook until reduced in volume by half, then add the chicken stock and bring to the boil
Cook for a couple of minutes, then add the chicken and return to the boil
Cook for 2 more minutes or until the chicken is cooked through
In a bowl, whisk the cream and egg yolks together. Add to the pan and stir through. Remove from the heat and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper
Finally, stir the tarragon through the sauce and keep warm until ready to serve
For the skinny fries:
Heat a deep fat fryer to 180C / 350F (Caution: hot oil can be dangerous. Don’t leave unattended)
Add the chips amd fry for 4-5 minutes until golden-brown and cooked through
Drain on kitchen paper then sprinkle with sea salt
To serve: spoon the chicken onto the plate then pile the fries alongside
Enjoy!
