Très Rapide French Summer Tarragon Chicken

"A simple supper or luncheon recipe that can be whipped up in a trice! Organic chicken breasts that are diced and then sautéed with fresh tarragon and crème fraiche with just a hint of lemon juice! This can be made in less than 15 minutes from prep to plate, making it an ideal recipe for busy bees or couch potatoes! I love this served with a simple selection of salad leaves and herbs dressed with a classic French dressing. Do try to use fresh tarragon, I have not tried this with dried, but imagine that it will not be as zingy and fresh. This is not necessarily a summer recipe, but my tarragon is in season at the moment, the sun is out and therein a recipe name was born! Bon appétit!"
 
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photo by French Tart photo by French Tart
photo by French Tart
photo by PaulaG photo by PaulaG
photo by French Tart photo by French Tart
photo by French Tart photo by French Tart
Ready In:
13mins
Ingredients:
8
Serves:
1
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ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon butter
  • 12 teaspoon nut oil, such as walnut oil
  • 1 chicken breast, boned (with skin or skinless)
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon leaves
  • creme fraiche, to taste
  • lemon juice, to taste
  • salt & freshly ground black pepper
  • fresh tarragon leaves (to garnish)
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directions

  • Cut your chicken breast into smallish pieces, I like to cut mine into fingers about 1/2" wide and 3" long -- you can also dice it into cubes if you wish.
  • Heat the butter and oil until sizzling but not brown, add the chopped tarragon and chicken pieces immediately (skin side down if using chicken with skin) and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the chicken is sticky and a nice caramel colour; the butter will have browned by now, but that is fine as long as it does not burn. Turn the chicken over and cook another 1 to 2 minutes.
  • Add some crème fraiche to your own requirements - I use about 2 tablespoons, but you can add more later. Allow to bubble for about 2 minutes and then add some lemon juice to taste. Season with salt and pepper and adjust the consistency if you want it creamier.
  • Serve with fresh tarragon leaves scattered over the top and a side salad with French dressing. Bon appétit!

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Reviews

  1. French Tart, this is indeed a very delicious chicken recipe. I must tell you though, that I did make one major change and that was I cooked this in my crock pot (done out of necessity). I know this definitely altered the taste of the recipe and I can't wait to make it again as directed but I must tell you that the family all gave it 5 stars anyway. Since we can not get creme fraiche in any of our little markets here in the deep woods, I blended the little bit of sour cream I had left with an ounce of cream cheese and a pinch of cream to get a smooth consistency that blended well with the lemon juice and chicken broth. It made a very tasty Sunday meal. Thank you for posting this delicious recipe. Made and reviewed for the 39th AUS/NZ Recipe Swap. P.S. I must add that DS said "This is a 200 star recipe! The little leaves are extra tasty!!" referring to the fresh tarragon sprinkled on top of the plated chicken.
     
  2. So fast, so easy and so delicious. (And I don't even like chicken!) Made it just as directed and will be making many more times. Thank you! Update: This recipe is also fantastic for larger dinners. We had 6 additional people staying with us and it was the perfect dinner to make for everyone after a busy day. It's so elegant and everyone loved it. I used sour cream that night instead of creme fraiche to save money and served it with rice. Thanks again!
     
  3. Wonderful FT! You did not say which nut oil to use so I used walnut oil. The fresh tarragon was nice, but next time I will use dry for the cooking part and fresh for the garnish. I made this for my lunch yesterday and enjoyed it greatly. As you know I am a great fan of cheese so I also garnished with a small amount of Crotonese cheese from Italy. Thanks for posting this wonderful and simple recipe!
     
  4. Editing my review to add 5 wonderful stars (I can't believe I forgot that when I did my review). I can't believe I've left this review until now...you must try this if you're a fan of chicken and tarragon. We've made this at least 4 times since August, for ourselves, and proudly for company. We followed the recipe exactly, using walnut oil, creme fraiche (instead of sour cream, which I don't think would provide that extra "oomph" the creme fraiche provides), and a good amount of tarragon. The flavor is complex, very french (tarragon to me brings a french mien to any recipe its in), and very delicious. The cooking time and direction are perfect, and the flavor is truly memorable; it reminds me of some of the dishes we had at bistros in Paris when we were there at the end of the summer. We'll be enjoying this dish all year round - merci beaucoup, French Tart!
     
  5. This was a super simple and totally yummy meal.. I absolutely love tarragon and knew I wanted to try this one as soon as I read it. It did not disappoint I doubled the recipe for myself and my son and we loved it. I served ours with a green leafy salad and some crusty bread for a delicious meal. Thanks FT for another really great dish full of flavour and a great one to keep on hand, for a super quick and easy after work fast meal. :)
     
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Tweaks

  1. Fast, easy & delectable :) I used dried tarragon as this is all I had. I used Rice Bran Oil in place of the nut oil. Both worked well. As this was for our main meal I served with brown rice and a salad of baby leaf greens topped with a diced tomato. Into my "keepers" file this goes and I am sure I will make it often when I want someting fast. Made for Aus/NZ swap July 2009 :)
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

<p><strong><span>The sunflowers in the field behind my house in SW France:</span></strong></p> <p><img title=Sunflowers src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/DSCN8221.jpg alt=Sunflowers width=640 height=480 /><br /><strong><span><br /><br />I am British (English-Scottish), but I was born in South Africa and have lived all over the world, including Hong Kong, Germany, Cyprus, USA &amp; Singapore. I have also been very fortunate to have travelled extensively over the years.........I still have wanderlust! <br /><br />I used to be an English Literature &amp; Art History teacher &amp; lecturer; before that, I trained and worked as a Graphic Designer for many years. I now live in France with my husband &amp; my daughter who has just started university in September 2006. We also have one very chatty Burmese cat Willow, who allows us to live with her here! (I used to have three cats, I recently lost Monty, a beautiful seal point Siamese and before that, Rama, who was a debonair blue point Siamese cat - I would love to have another Siamese cat or cats in the future!)</span></strong></p> <p><em><strong><span>This is my Burmese Cat, Willow, sunning herself on the log pile in the kitchen garden:</span></strong></em></p> <p><strong><img title=My src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/ABaconButtyandSundryFoodPhotos34.jpg alt=My width=640 height=480 /></strong></p> <p><strong><span>Here is my lovely Monty, a seal point Siamese, and Willow, sitting&nbsp;in the kitchen garden last year, and a few months before Monty died; he was 18yrs old:</span></strong></p> <p><img title=Monty src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/AbsolutelySinfulStickyToffeePudding.jpg alt=Monty width=640 height=480 />My</p> <p><strong><span>This is my wonderful old boy, Rama, a blue-point Siamese, who died when he was 20yrs old - excuse the old and much sellotaped photo:</span></strong></p> <p><img title=Rama src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/Rama1stOctober2004164.jpg alt=Rama width=517 height=639 /></p> <p><strong><span>My favourite pastimes are: reading, writing, painting &amp; drawing, photography, gardening, anything creative, walking, travelling, dining out and of course COOKING! I love all types of cuisine, but especially Traditional British - and NO it is NOT all bad!! I particularly love food associated with the changing seasons plus traditional feasts &amp; festivals, as well as Slow Cooking. I also enjoy French &amp; North African cuisine, come to think of it, there isn't much I don't like! <br /><br />My husband &amp; I run a Chambres D'Hotes, (Bed and Breakfast) called Auberge de la Fontaine here in beautiful South West France; we specialise in Gourmet Food &amp; Wine Breaks, French Antiques &amp; Restoration courses, French Language courses and French Cookery classes. Our home is completely furnished with Antique French furniture that we have rescued &amp; restored ourselves. Our charming village has one of the oldest Churches in the region &amp; it is famous for its connection with the St.Jacques de Compostella Pilgrimage route, as well as being within the Cognac &amp; Bordeaux wine growing area. <br /><br />We have a wonderful garden where we grow ALL of our own herbs and most of our fruit and vegetables. I specialise in rare, unusual and old-fashioned herbs, which I grow in our walled garden. As well as growing herbs, I also grow many different varieties of lavender, old-fashioned shrub roses and heirloom fruit and vegetables. <br /><br />We have lived overseas for many, many years now - but we both still love going home to Northern England, near Scarborough &amp; York, to visit our family &amp; friends. 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