Tarragon chicken (thing)

A quick, but incredibly luxurious tasting dish, perfectly suited for giving the boss dinner, or impressing the in-laws.

Serves four

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2oz/50g butter
• 1/2 pint/250ml chicken stock fresh or made with powder, not cubes
• 1/4 pint/125ml cream
• 2 tablespoons tarragon vinegar
• 2 teaspoons fresh (or 1 teaspoon dried) tarragon
• 1 heaped teaspoon wholegrain mustard

Method

1. Pan-fry chicken in butter until browned, turning once (about 7 minutes).
2. Dissolve mustard in hot chicken stock.
3. Add vinegar and tarragon to stock, top up with cream.
4. Add sauce to chicken pan and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and tender, stirring regularly to prevent burning.
5. Serve with boiled new potatoes and vegetables: asparagus, sugar snap peas, mangetout, fresh green beans or baby corn are all ideal.

This sauce is a little runny, and can be thickened with a roux or a paste of cornflour (cornstarch) and water, if you wish, but that reduces the piquancy

In the unlikely event of you having any left-over sauce, use it in scrambled eggs the following day, it gives them a lovely zing.

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With all due respect to the author of the recipe below, these are entirely different dishes - though I have since cooked his and can testify it is quite as divine as my own.