This is a simple supper dish that makes use of the lovely fresh tarragon available at the moment and goes very well with the plentiful spring vegetables now coming on the market.To serve 6 people you’ll need:
6 Chicken breasts skinned and cut in half lengthways
500 gms small mushrooms (sliced)
1 pint chicken stock
3 tablespoons crème fraiche
Leaves of 4 sprigs of tarragon
Salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon of flour for thickening
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
100 gms butter
Slice the mushrooms and sauté them in half of the butter for a few minutes, then remove them from the pan and put to one side.
Using the same pan that you cooked your mushrooms in add the oil and the seasoned chicken breasts. Cook for 5 minutes or until golden brown on the outside. Remove them from the pan and arrange them on the bottom of a flattish ovenproof dish.
Melt the remaining butter in a saucepan and add the flour to make a roux. Slowly add the chicken stock to make a sauce, and then add the crème fraiche, stirring continuously until you have a smooth creamy mixture. Season to taste with salt & freshly ground pepper. Now add the tarragon leaves and mushrooms to the sauce and pour over the chicken pieces in the dish.
Cover with foil and bake in a hot oven (180°) for half an hour, remove the foil and continue cooking for another 45 minutes until the sauce is a light golden colour on top and the chicken is cooked through.
Serve with new potatoes or rice and green vegetables. Our B&B guests loved this dish when I recently served it with ribbons of courgette and new seasons asparagus tips sautéed in a little seasoned butter.
