Recipe: Chicken with Tarragon by Raymond Oliver

1 Cut the chicken into pieces and sauté them briskly in a Dutch oven with a little oil (olive, rapeseed, or sunflower) and a good knob of butter.

2 Remove the chicken once well browned, drain it, and flame with 1 liqueur glass of Cognac (Armagnac works just as well).

3 In the same Dutch oven, add the freshly chopped shallots (4.4 oz (125 g) for a 3.25 lb (1.5 kg) chicken) with a knob of fresh butter. Let them cook until nicely caramelized.

4 Return the chicken, pour in a good glass of dry white wine and two beautiful tarragon sprigs. Season with salt and pepper.

5 Cover and let simmer for 25 minutes.

6 Transfer the chicken to a warm plate.

7 In the Dutch oven, remove the tarragon sprigs, then mix two deciliters of heavy cream with an egg yolk. Heat without letting it boil, this is very important.

8 Once the creamy consistency is achieved, pour everything over the chicken and sprinkle with chopped tarragon and chervil.

9 Personally, just a good amount of fresh chopped tarragon works perfectly for me. I prefer to mix it with the sauce in the Dutch oven just before pouring it over the chicken so the flavor is more pronounced. Remember to save a little fresh chopped tarragon for garnishing your serving plate.