{"id":2911,"date":"2010-01-13T19:17:20","date_gmt":"2010-01-14T01:17:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hottie-biscotti.com\/blog\/?p=2911"},"modified":"2010-01-13T20:39:50","modified_gmt":"2010-01-14T02:39:50","slug":"tarragon-chicken-fricassee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hottie-biscotti.com\/blog\/2010\/01\/13\/tarragon-chicken-fricassee\/","title":{"rendered":"Tarragon Chicken Fricass\u00e9e"},"content":{"rendered":"

My attempts in writing the title to this post resulted in many misspellings of the word “fricass\u00e9e”.\u00a0 I will not tell you the number of times I tried and failed to spell it…and do not ask Ben, because he will probably tell you and I will be embarrassed.<\/p>\n

Despite the difficulty involved in spelling this French word, this tarragon chicken fricass\u00e9e was quite easy to prepare and very delicious.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Fricass\u00e9e is, by definition, meat, usually chicken or veal, browned lightly, stewed, and served in a sauce made with its own stock.\u00a0 The origin of the word itself is French, but there are many regional variations of a fricass\u00e9e. \u00a0Greek and Cuban fricass\u00e9e are a few that I saw while searching for recipes.<\/p>\n

The meal I made was, if I had to ascribe it to a region, French.\u00a0 I love the flavor of the fresh tarragon.\u00a0 It gives this dish an incredibly fresh flavor and perfectly slight sweetness.\u00a0 Tarragon is a classic herb used in French cooking, and is considered to be one of the four\u00a0fine herbs of Mediterranean cooking.\u00a0 The other three are parsley, chives and chervil.<\/p>\n

Some fricass\u00e9e recipes use a variety of vegetables along with the chicken.\u00a0 Quite a few recipes included mushrooms and onions.\u00a0 A few had vegetables like peas, beans or peppers.\u00a0 One recipe I saw had apples.\u00a0 This recipe is simple in that the only vegetables to be found are shallots and tarragon.\u00a0 Is garlic a vegetable? \u00a0Is tarragon a vegetable? \u00a0Anyway.\u00a0 This is a simple chicken fricass\u00e9e which allows for the flavors of the tarragon, chicken, white wine and cream to really shine and not be covered or overshadowed by a bunch of other stuff.<\/p>\n

Everything in the recipe below is just as it was originally, except I used 4 chicken breasts and added more tarragon. \u00a0You can find the original recipe here<\/a>. \u00a0I served this with green beans with toasted walnuts and egg noodles. \u00a0I will definitely be making this again. \u00a0I used the leftovers in a really special meal the following evening…more on that later.<\/p>\n

Tarragon Chicken Fricass\u00e9e<\/h5>\n

From Epicurious.com<\/p>\n

Ingredients<\/h6>\n
    \n
  • 4 bone-in chicken breasts (skin on or off)<\/li>\n
  • \u00be teaspoon salt<\/li>\n
  • \u00bd teaspoon black pepper<\/li>\n
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil<\/li>\n
  • \u00bd cup finely chopped shallots<\/li>\n
  • 1 garlic clove, finely chopped<\/li>\n
  • 1 bay leaf<\/li>\n
  • 1\/2 cup dry white wine<\/li>\n
  • 1 cup heavy cream<\/li>\n
  • \u00bd \u00a0cup reduced-sodium chicken broth<\/li>\n
  • 1 \u00bd – 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh tarragon<\/li>\n
  • \u00bc teaspoon fresh lemon juice<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
    Directions<\/h6>\n
      \n
    1. Pat chicken dry and sprinkle all over with salt and pepper.<\/li>\n
    2. Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then saut\u00e9 chicken in 2 batches, skin side down first, turning over once, until browned, 10 to 12 minutes total per batch. Transfer to a plate.<\/li>\n
    3. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons oil from skillet, then cook shallots, garlic, and bay leaf over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until shallots are softened, about 2 minutes. Add wine and bring to a boil. Stir in cream, broth, and 1 tablespoon tarragon, then add chicken, skin side up, and simmer, covered, until just cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer chicken with tongs to a platter and keep warm, loosely covered. If necessary, boil sauce until thickened slightly.<\/li>\n
    4. Stir in lemon juice, remaining 1\/2 tablespoon tarragon, and salt and pepper to taste. Discard bay leaf; pour sauce over chicken.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n