Chicken With Tarragon Mustard Cream Sauce
I love French food, even though I don’t eat it that often. The first time I had French food was at a French restaurant in downtown Chicago back in the early 1980s. Every dish was so different than the American food we ate at home. Rich, butter or cream sauces. Meat and fish that were fork tender. Everything was filled with flavor. I was immediately hooked.
Chicken With Tarragon Mustard Cream Sauce is one of my favorite French dishes. The traditional version typically uses a whole cut up chicken with the skin on, shallots, brandy and only Dijon Mustard. I have changed things over the years to balance out the tartness of Dijon Mustard. It is the perfect blend of being comfort food with some elegance. This can be served as a family meal and is also perfect for a small dinner party with friends.
Dijon is the capital of Burgundy, one of the best wine regions in France. In the United States, the city of Dijon is best known for its mustard. Dijon is made with finely milled mustard seed and the tart juice of unripe grapes. For this recipe, I combine both Dijon and a whole grain mustard (en grains) which is not as tart.
The end result of this finished dish is chicken that is moist and flavorful. You will want to eat the sauce by the spoonful. Serve over rice. Green Beans/Haricots Vert or Asparagus sautéed with a Tablespoon of shallot butter will make for a complete meal.
Give my Chicken With Tarragon Mustard Cream Sauce a try. It is quick and easy to make. If you love it, leave a comment below. Make your version of this finished dish and post it on Instagram. Don’t forget to tag me.
Chicken With A Tarragon Mustard Cream Sauce
A perfect blend of French comfort food with some elegance.
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 2 medium shallots, thinly sliced
- 1/2 pound white mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 2 Tablespoons whole grain mustard (en grains)
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons fresh tarragon, chopped
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Directions
- Step 1 In a large frying pan, melt 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter and olive oil.
- Step 2 Lightly salt and pepper the chicken breast and add them to the frying pan. Sauté until they are golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from pan.
- Step 3 Add the remaining butter, shallots and mushrooms to the pan and sauté until the onions are translucent and the mushroom start to cook.
- Step 4 Whisk in the chicken broth, heavy cream, white wine, both mustards and tarragon.
- Step 5 Increase the heat until the sauce comes to a boil. The sauce will just start to thicken.
- Step 6 Return the chicken to the sauce. Reduce the heat and simmer until the chicken is heated throughout, about 15 minutes depending on the thickness of your chicken breasts. Chicken should be fork tender.
- Step 7 Serve immediately.
Note: As the sauce reduces, it will become salty from the wine. No need to add that much salt in the beginning.
Looks delicious…no calories, right?
Nothing on my blog has calories, LOL!