John Torode’s Chicken with Tarragon Sauce

John Torode’s Chicken and Other Birds is hugely entertaining and yet, at the same time, immensely practical. He calls it ‘beak to tail’ eating.

Chicken and Other Birds runs the gamut of everything from that great Jewish staple, chicken soup, where a whole chicken is simmered so that all its flavour is extracted, to cooking the classic roast in the fashion that Torode’s mother taught him.

Don’t skimp on quality for chicken soup, Torode urges:  “Cook it carefully and you will have a good pot of soup that satisfies and heals.”

My favourites are Chicken with Tarragon Sauce, Chicken, Crab and Avocado Salad, Spiced Duck Salad with Thai Herbs and Roasted Rice, and his ‘one-pot wonders’: Coq au Vin, Guinea Fowl Tagine, Pigeons in a Pot and a heavenly range of tarts, pies and pastries.

Chicken with Tarragon Sauce

Serves 2

CHICKEN
Olive oil
2 chicken breasts, skin on
salt and pepper

TARRAGON SAUCE
100 ml brandy
100ml creme fraiche
1 handful chopped parsley
1 handful torn tarragon leaves

1. Heat a heavy frying pan over a medium heat and add a little olive oil. Season the chicken well and place it skin-side down in the pan. Cook for a good 8 minutes, then turn the breasts over and cook for the same time again. Check the chicken is cooked through, then remove it from the pan and keep warm.
2. Raise the heat under the pan to very high. Add the brandy and carefully flame it to burn off the harsh taste of the alcohol. Shake or stir to incorporate the pan juices and sticky bits from the base of the pan. Stir in the creme fraiche then taste and season. Bring the sauce to the boil and reduce by half. Add most of the parsley and tarragon leaves.
3. Serve the sauce with the chicken and some mash or champ, pouring the brown juices that come from the rested chicken over the dish as well. Sprinkle with the last of the chopped herbs.

Refer to recipe for Guinea Fowl Tagine here.

John Torode’s Chicken and Other Birds

Quadrille Publishing Ltd, London

www.quadrille.co.uk