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Pecos Pueblo

Wednesday, October 18, 2023

Chicken tarragon with roasted potatoes and green beans

We honestly do not use a lot of tarragon in our house. 

My mother used it with slightly more frequency but for some reason we neglect it here. 

We do use fennel which has a somewhat similar flavor profile. 

It is a great herb but as I am learning with everything, it must be used in moderation.

A little goes an awfully long way.

Anyhow, we had some fresh tarragon left over from the pork Normandy I made recently and Leslie suggested I make a chicken tarragon while the herb was still good. 

What a great idea!

Tonight I dredged chicken thigh filets and browned them at the bottom of my Dutch oven. 

I removed them to a plate and started cooking garlic, deglazed the bits with pinot grigio and added chicken stock. Added a bit of flour to the mix, salt and peppered, added the chicken back to the pot and about five leaves of tarragon. I let the thing bake uncovered at 350 degrees.

Prior to the chicken I revisited Kenji Lopez Alt's alkaline roast potatoes, my favorite recipe, which I tweaked a tiny bit. 

I boiled the russet potatoes in water with baking soda and salt for ten minutes, gave them two cold water baths and then roasted them in duck fat, garlic, olive oil, cayenne and rosemary. 

For about 45 minutes at 450 degrees.

With ten minutes to go on the Chicken Tarragon I added the heavy cream, some of my roasted potatoes, gave it a good stir and let it cook for ten more minutes.

Grabbed my cast iron skillet, heated up olive oil and red chili flakes and then browned the organic green beans for about five minutes. 

I then added a splash of water, covered it with the heavy lid and let them cook for two more minutes.

Leslie came home and plated the meal up. We added a skoche more fresh tarragon and some paprika for color and taste.

The whole dinner was delicious. So fragrant. Sauce was simply divine. My best ever, she said. 

She wants to know when I will make it again?

Nice!

Not complicated in the least but who says it has to be?

You just have to get it right.


1 comment:

Liz said...

I made all the salad dressing when we were growing up. It always had tarragon. I still love it. I also love fennel