In summer the tarragon shows its bright yellow blossoms. Its sweet aniseed note perfectly suits for meat and poultry meals. The herb is considered to be digestive and appetite-stimulating.
Poultry meat works well with light summer cooking. But be sure to use chicken from species-appropriate husbandry with the right feeding.
Ingredients for 4 portions:
1 free-range chicken c. 1.3 kg
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium-sized, white, peeled, roughly chopped onion
4 tomatoes (450 g)
3 cloves of garlic
2 bay leaves
3 cloves
2 sprigs of tarragon
3 shallots
200-300 ml chicken stock, as required
25 ml tarragon vinegar or sherry vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustar
1 tbsp tomato purée mixed with 150 g cream
2 tbsp finely chopped tarragon leaves
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste
Tipps from Eckart Witzigmann:
- Serve with basmati rice, pasta, gnocchi, bulgar wheat or fresh white bread.
- When the tarragon vinegar evaporates, it leaves the chicken with a special flavour.
- Use the chicken carcass to make a juice or stock.
Preparation (c. 60 minutes):
Blanch, peel and core the 4 tomatoes. Add a pinch of salt and sugar. Reduce slowly to a puréed sauce.
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Cut the chicken into 8 pieces, add salt and gently fry in butter and oil on all sides in a frying pan or roasting pan.
Stud 1 shallot with a bay leaf and 3 cloves. Add the studded shallot, onion and sprigs of tarragon to pan with chicken. Cover and place in a hot oven at 190 degrees and steam for 20 minutes. Keep adding a little tarragon vinegar at a time. Drain off the fat, add some olive oil, remove the chicken and keep warm. Deglaze the onions and shallots with poultry stock and then add the remaining stock.
Mix the mustard and tomato purée in a saucepan. Add the cream and puréed tomato sauce, simmer slowly until the mixture is creamy in consistency.
Return the pieces of chicken to the roasting pan with the sauce, cook thoroughly for a further approx. 15 minutes in the oven. Remove the studded shallot and sprigs of tarragon. Add the chopped tarragon leaves and season to taste before serving.
Bon appetit!