Tarragon is one of those herbs that turns up when it feels like it. You don't plan for it — you spot it, you grab it, and then you decide what to do with it on the way home. That's what happened in Torredonjimeno. There it was, sitting in the herb section looking slightly out of place, and I wasn't leaving without it.

Nigel Slater's chicken with cream and tarragon came to mind immediately. It's one of those recipes that feels like it was written for exactly this situation — a single chicken breast, a splash of white wine, and something green and aromatic that you don't see often enough. What ended up in the pan was my own version. The shallots, the garlic, the mustard, the lemon — all mine. But Nigel pointed me in the right direction. Thanks, Nigel.

The trick with this dish is the breast. Seared whole, then sliced but kept together — so it arrives at the table looking like itself, fanned slightly, the sauce pooling around it. It's a small thing, but it matters.

My Take on Nigel Slater's Chicken with Cream and Tarragon — The Recipe

Ingredients (serves 1)

• 1 chicken breast, skin on
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 knob of butter
• 2 shallots, finely sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
• 75ml dry white wine
• 100ml single cream
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• Juice of ½ lemon
• Small handful of fresh tarragon, leaves picked — plus a few sprigs to finish
• Salt and black pepper

Method

1. Pat the chicken breast dry and season well on both sides. Heat the olive oil in a small frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the chicken skin-side down and sear for 4–5 minutes until the skin is golden and crisp. Turn and cook for a further 3–4 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside to rest — it will finish cooking in the sauce.
2. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the butter to the same pan, then the shallots. Cook gently for 3–4 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
3. Pour in the white wine and let it bubble for 2 minutes, scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pan.
4. Stir in the single cream and mustard. Let the sauce simmer gently for 2–3 minutes until it begins to thicken slightly. Add the lemon juice and most of the tarragon leaves. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
5. Return the chicken breast to the pan, skin-side up. Spoon the sauce over it and cook gently for a further 4–5 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
6. Remove the chicken to a board. Slice it across at an angle — five or six cuts — but keep it together so it still looks like a breast. Transfer to a warm bowl or plate, spoon the sauce generously over and around it, and finish with the remaining tarragon leaves.

A note on the sauce

Single cream will give you a lighter sauce than double — it won't reduce to a thick coating, but that's not what this is. It's a loose, fragrant, wine-and-herb sauce that belongs in the bowl with the chicken rather than on top of it. Don't rush it and don't turn the heat up to compensate.

A note on the tarragon

Fresh only. Dried tarragon is a different thing entirely — faintly medicinal, lacking the anise lift that makes this dish work. If you can't find fresh, make something else and wait for tarragon to turn up when it feels like it.

Footnote:

This chicken with cream and tarragon recipe was inspired by Nigel Slater — you'll find another Nigel Slater moment on TFC in Nearly Nigel's Dark & Sticky Fig and Grape Chutney. It's also part of the Chicken Hub — the complete collection of chicken recipes from The Flexible Chef.

If you like cooking from Nigel Slater, you might also enjoy my Nigel Slater roast chicken wings with lemon and black pepper and Nearly Nigel's dark sticky fig and grape chutney.

Wonky photos, proper food, genuine adventures — The Flexible Chef