Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Chicken with Tarragon and White Wine


(from Giada de Laurentis)

I'm between jobs right now, so I've been spending a lot of time (sigh) watching all kinds of bad daytime TV. This includes cooking shows (let's face it, though, it's usually Say Yes to the Dress and Property Brothers), which is where I found this recipe. I watched Giada make it, then gave it a stab myself. Her type of cooking is the type I can recognize and replicate without too much instruction (garlic? Got it!), so I was actually pretty happy with how it turned out, sans recipe.

That being said, I made this over a month ago, and promptly forgot how to make it. Luckily for me, the Internet is a great refresher, and I found the exact recipe (without God-knows-what modifications I made), which you can find below, with some modifications.

This was really easy and delicious, and it's nice because it seems fancy and could therefore be served to guests. Of course, Giada made some kind of appetizer and these little miniature fruit tarts...for lunch. Not going to happen, folks. So I made it for dinner, with some roasted Brussels sprouts, and called it good. And it was!

So:

1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used olive oil. I mean, come on...)
1 (4 1/2-pound) chicken, cut into 8 pieces (I used four chicken thighs)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Flour for dusting
1 1/2 cups (about 10 ounces) cipollini onions, trimmed and peeled (grab a handful)
4 cloves garlic, halved
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup white wine, such as Riesling
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth, plus 1/3 cup
1/2 cup chopped fresh tarragon leaves, plus 2 tablespoons
Heat the oil over high in a Dutch oven or large saucepan. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, dust with flour, and cook, turning occasionally to brown on all sides.

Scoot the chicken to the side and add the onions and garlic, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste, about five minutes. Increase the heat and add the wine, scraping up the brown bits that cling to the pan. Add 3 cups of the chicken broth and 1/2 cup of tarragon, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low to simmer, and cover. Turn the chicken every 10 minutes or so until it's cooked through. Serve over brown rice and garnish with remaining tarragon.

Now, what the Internet version says to do is a little different, and not what I remember following from TV. It sounds good, though, so if you wanted. You'll need:
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Remove the chicken to a platter. In a small bowl, mix the remaining 1/3 cup chicken broth and flour. Whisk the flour mixture into the sauce in the pan until smooth. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook uncovered until it thickens. Stir in the butter, and serve the sauce over the chicken.

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