Tag-Archive for » tarragon «
I made both of these recipes the other night from zaar members both were excellent, but probably a bit heavy together, this would also be because I served a tarragon cheese sauce with the chicken. The sauce was wonderful and went well with the chicken but I should have served it with a side salad or just plain broccoli as all that richness together was just too much and too filling. I will list all the recipes though because by themselves they were wonderful. Instead of making the chicken as little rolls I did mine as whole breasts and served as main dish. I think I preferred it this way it made it easy to handle the chicken and I did not loose any filling as I expect you would if you made this as suggested. To read more reviews and see more photos of the chicken recipe please click here. I will post a link to the broccoli recipe below with the listed recipe.
If you have been keepin
g up with the progress of my beautiful handcrafted camphor laurel chopping, cheese boards and Mezzaluna Boards. My official site is finally finished and live so to see my full collection please click here.
Ingredients
2 Half chicken breast fillets (no skin, trimmed of fat)
1/2 Onion, finely chopped
2 Garlic cloves, crushed
10 Button mushrooms, finely sliced
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 Cup cream cheese
4 Slices of thin prosciutto (or bacon)(I used more.)
Method
As I said above I kept my chicken as whole breasts I think it made it easier, so take your pick.
1. Sit your chicken breast on a chopping board and slice it all the way through the middle (like you are filleting a fish).
2. You should have two almost identical top and bottom pieces of chicken.
3. Repeat for the other breast; set aside.
4. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in pan and add onion, fry until almost transparent and then add garlic. Stir occasionally.
5. Cook for 2 minutes then add sliced mushrooms.
6. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
7. Put your chicken breast between two freezer bags and pound it so that it is quite thin then cut it half along the long edge.
8. Ok you should now have four chicken pieces- spread each with cream cheese then divided the onion/mushroom mixture between them (spread the cream cheese and the mushroom all over the chicken).
9. Roll the chicken up tightly then roll a piece of prosciutto around it and secure with a toothpick, repeat.
10. Heat 1 tbsp oil in pan and over medium/high heat seal the chicken parcels on all sides.
11. Lower the heat and continue cooking until chicken is cooked through (about 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of your breast– lol).
Either serve as is with your favorite sauce or cut into slices to serve as nibbles or entrée.
Serves 2
Tarragon Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
1 Cup water
50ml Dry white wine
1 Teaspoon chicken stock granules
1 Teaspoon french mustard
3 Tablespoon parmesan cheese, grated finely
1/2 Cup cream
3 Teaspoons cornflour
2 Tablespoons tarragon
Method
1. Add water, wine, stock and mustard, to a saucepan, bring to the boil, reduce heat.
2. Mix a little water with the cornflour and add to sauce, stir to thicken, Add cream and cheese, stir until cheese is melted, stir in tarragon and serve immediately.
Broccoli Dijon
Ingredients
1-1 1/2lb Broccoli
2 Tablespoons butter
1 Medium onion, finely chopped
2-4 Garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 Cup sour cream
1 Tablespoon dijon-style mustard
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
Method
1. Cut the broccoli into florets and slice the stalk.
2. Steam or boil until tender but still firm and bright green.
3. Heat the butter in a skillet over medium heat and saute the onion and garlic about 5 minutes until tender but not brown.
4. Add the remaining ingredients and stir over low heat.
5. Spoon the sauce over the broccoli and serve immediately.
Serves 4-6
To change serving sizes or to read more reviews or see more photos click here.
This is a dish that is so easy to make and tastes great. It was one of those nights thinking, What am I going to cook for dinner? and seeing what was in the fridge and throwing all the ingredients together and it worked really well. Having said that, don’t think I had celeriac on hand that night I don’t think I served anything else with it.
What is celeriac? some of you may be wondering if you have not seen or heard of it. Celeriac or basically celery root, may appear to most people to be just an ugly, uninteresting, knobbly root but celeriac has inner beauty. The flesh – crispy when raw, silky smooth when cooked – has a delicate taste which suggests the flavours of celery and parsley with a slight nuttiness. It has nutritional benefits as well it contains vitamins and minerals some of them are vitamin C, potassium, and phosphorus.
TIPS for buying and preparing celeriac
BUYING
Choose medium-sized celeriac that are firm and free from soft spots or damage. Allow for around 1/4 of the weight to be discarded during preparation.
PREPARING
Trim leaves (if present) and root end. Scrub well and cut off the skin quite thickly to remove any brown bits and the root channels in the base. Drop cut pieces in water with a squeeze of lemon juice to prevent discolouration.
Ingredients
Olive oil
4 Chicken breasts
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 sticks celery, chopped
150g spinach, washed and cut down
11/2 Teaspoons chicken stock
4 Cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 Cup white wine
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 Cup of water
1 Cup cream
11/2 tablespoons double cream
2 Teaspoons cornflour
1 Teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 Tablespoons tarragon, finely chopped
3 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese
For the mash
11/2kg Celeriac
20g Butter
1/2 Teaspoon chicken stock
1/2 Cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 Cup cream
Method for chicken
1. Heat a small amount of oil in a large fry pan add onion, garlic and celery cook until soft. Add water, wine, stock powder and lemon juice stir until heated. Mix a little water with the cornflour and add stir until mixture thickens.
I add the cornflour at this point, before the cream, so the cream does not curdle from all the acidity of the lemon juice and wine. So the mixture will be quite thick, this is fine as it balances out when the cream is added.
2. Add both creams and Dijon stir to combine. Boil or microwave chopped carrot until tender. Add spinach to cream mixture and stir until soft, add the carrots and the tarragon and stir until heated through. Serve immediately
3. For the chicken breasts heat an oiled pan add chicken and cook until browned on both sides and cooked through. This can be cooking while your making the Tarragon sauce so everything is ready to go at the same time.
For the Celeriac Mash
1. Peel (making sure all tough brown grainy outer skin has been removed) and chop celeriac into cubes place in a saucepan covered with water, add some lemon juice to the water this helps to stop the browning of the vegetable. Cook until tender and drain.
2. Place celeriac in a large bowl add butter, chicken stock and cream blend until smooth with no lumps. (you can do this in a blender if preferred, I have a handheld bar mix) Add Parmesan in 2 lots blending as you add. If the cheese doesn’t melt all the way through you can finish off in the microwave. Cream can be adjusted if the mixture seems a little thick just add a touch more cream. The end result should have a smooth creamy consistency that similar to creamy mash potato.
To serve place a few spoonfuls of the creamy vegetable, tarragon mixture onto a plate, place chicken on top, pour a little more sauce over the top and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Place mash to the side, I like to pipe my mash out of a bag with a nice piping head in three small mounds,not necessary it just looks nicer.
Photo’s taken by me unless otherwise stated
