Ingredients
- 8 free-range or organic chicken thighs, bone in and skin on
- Sea salt and black pepper
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 250 g chestnut or button mushrooms, quartered
- 8 small shallots, peeled and halved
- 2 garlic cloves, sliced
- 400 ml chicken bone broth or stock
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 100 ml crème fraîche or double cream
- A small bunch of tarragon, leaves chopped
- A little chopped parsley
Method
- Brown the chicken: season the chicken. Heat the oil in a large casserole and brown the thighs skin-side down for 8 minutes, until golden and crisp, then turn and brown for 2 minutes more. Lift out.
- Cook the vegetables: pour off all but a spoonful of the fat. Add the mushrooms and shallots and cook for 6–8 minutes, until golden. Add the garlic for 1 minute.
- Braise: pour in the broth and lemon juice and stir to lift the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Return the chicken, skin-side up, cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and tender.
- Make the sauce: lift the chicken onto a warm plate. Boil the sauce for 5 minutes to reduce it a little, then stir in the mustard, crème fraîche and most of the tarragon. Season.
- Serve: return the chicken to the sauce, scatter with the remaining herbs and serve with steamed green beans and celeriac mash, or brown rice.
Why it's good for you: Tarragon, the "king of herbs" in French cooking, has long been used as a gentle digestive, and its sweet, aniseed flavour lifts the whole dish. Slow braising chicken on the bone makes it tender and releases gelatin and minerals into the sauce. Choosing free-range or organic chicken means better welfare and better-quality meat.
Good to know: Always make sure the chicken is cooked through, with no pink meat and juices that run clear.
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