Chicken with Tarragon Cream Sauce, Green Beans with Shallots + Rice Pilaf

Chicken with Tarragon Cream Sauce, Green Beans with Shallots + Rice Pilaf

Ingredients

For the Rice Pilaf:

  • 2 tablespoons butter

  • About ½ cup broken bits of spaghetti or thin spaghetti, 1-1 ½ inch pieces

  • ½ cup pine nuts or chopped almonds, toasted

  • 1¼ cups white rice

  • Salt and pepper

  • 2 cups chicken stock  

For the Green Beans with Shallots:

  • 1 pound trimmed green beans or haricots verts

  • 2 tablespoons butter

  • 2 large shallots

  • Salt and white pepper, to taste

  • 1 cup chicken stock or broth 

For the Chicken with Tarragon Cream Sauce:

  • About 6 tablespoons olive oil

  • 4 to 6 pieces boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved horizontally if breasts are larger than 5 ounces each

  • Salt and fine black or white pepper

  • 2 tablespoons butter

  • 2 to 3 large cloves garlic, grated or chopped

  • Juice of ½ small lemon, plus 2 teaspoons zest

  • A few grates nutmeg, optional

  • 1 tablespoon flour

  • ½ cup white wine

  • ½ cup chicken stock

  • ½ cup heavy cream 

  • 3 to 4 sprigs tarragon, stripped and chopped

  • 1 rounded tablespoon Dijon mustard 

Directions

Serves: 4 to 6

For the rice, in saucepot over medium heat, melt butter, brown the pasta and pine nuts, add rice and stir a minute more. Season the rice with salt and pepper, add stock, bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low, and cook 15 minutes. Remove from heat, let stand 10 minutes, fluff with fork and serve.

For the beans, boil in salted water 3 to 4 minutes, place in ice water bath to shock, then drain and dry. Heat a skillet over medium low heat with butter, melt, then add shallots, salt and white pepper and soften. Add stock and cook at low boil until very tender. Turn the heat off, add green beans and cover. Reheat over medium flame when ready to serve. 

For the chicken, heat about ¼ cup EVOO, 4 to 5 turns of the pan, in a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then lightly brown on both sides, about 5 minutes, and remove to platter. Add about 2 tablespoons EVOO, 2 turns of the pan, and the butter, melt and bubble, then add garlic and swirl a minute, grate in some lemon zest and nutmeg, season with salt and pepper, add a sprinkle of flour, and stir. Add wine, stock, cream, and tarragon, thicken a bit, stir in mustard and slide chicken back in to cook through. To serve, add lemon juice.   

Serve chicken alongside the rice and green beans.