Hello creamy mushroom and tarragon chicken thighs. I feel like i should put some love hearts here. The thing about this recipe is that it.just.works. Mushrooms and cream are like bestie/sisters/soulmates.
As for chicken and tarragon, when they get together they just SING to you. Talking of chicken and tarragon, I have a wonderful recipe coming very soon for the most fragrant, buttery (and i make no apologies for that),melt in the mouth roast tarragon chicken coming soon.
(Round two - I'm saying this out loud)..This creamy mushroom and tarragon chicken thigh recipe is everything. The sauce alone is to die for. Ok..not die. Something less dramatic maybe? What i mean is that it is really really good. Words are failing me right now AND I feel/sound like a double glazed window salesman. With that being said, I'm going to push a bit further. Next time you have friends over, make this chicken. They will love it. They will love you. Serve it with rice, pasta or spaghetti. I prefer rice. Always, always..rice. Just trust me on this. That sauce is earthy, rich, deep, warming. It's like a great big hug and we all need one of them once in a while.
Mushroom and tarragon chicken is also a crowd pleaser. Unless of course your crowd doesn't like mushrooms..or tarragon..or mustard..or chicken. Then it's not.
I don't know about you but ever since i was a child, i have always needed background noise in order to get some work done. Not too loud though. It can get ear piercingly loud in this house with my two. My son has a REALLY LOUD voice. Even when he is conveying a very sweet message, it SOUNDS LIKE THESE BLOCK CAPS (because everyone knows, block caps mean shouting). My daughter isn't as loud anymore. Anyone who knows my daughter, knows she went through an extremely high pitched screamy stage. When i was young, we used to watch a really random tv show (Random here means stupid - but hey with age comes wisdom), called Wail of the Banshee. I don't know if anyone has heard of it before? I linked it for you. (You're welcome). Basically if you heard that really high pitched scream of the banshee, you knew death would follow three days later. (I don't know why we watched it either - Please don't judge me. I was a child). When my little sister was younger, she had a somewhat similar scream and my daughter inherited it from her..i'm convinced.
Sometimes when I think of that screaming, i imagine someone scratching my eye balls from the inside. Sounds pleasant doesn't it? I always found her screaming more difficult when other people were around. Mainly because, i'm her mother. I look at her with different eyes. Sometimes, people aren't always as forgiving of babies (YES - BABIES) showing emotions. If you ask me, that makes them the baby. (POW). I could talk about this all day, but I won't. Needless to say, i find adults intolerance to such things strange. It goes without saying that mummy shaming on any level HAS to stop. Sometimes what you will find, is that two babies with the same traits are labelled differently and therefore treated differently. One child's naughty is another child's strong willed. I could write a whole book on human labelling but i won't because it's all too negative, consuming and draining. I would rather just let it go, let it go.. (Can anyone even say 'let it go' anymore, without breaking into song?).
Anyway back to the background noise. When I was younger i used to revise with the TV on as background noise. I never watched it. I just had it on in the background and it helped me soak the information in somehow. Usually when I write these posts, I have some sort of podcast/programme playing in the background. I don't actually watch the TV though. I just half listen. Yeah..typing that made me realise how weird that is. Today I'm really struggling with the background noise because my internet keeps cutting out. Is there anything more annoying then listening to something that keeps restarting, rewinding a bit and restarting again? There probably is, but i can't think of anything more frustrating right now.
In other news, my husband is really excited about the potential of Leicester City winning the premier League. I can't really talk about it much because I don't get it. My brother had a few words to say. His dry sense humour makes me laugh out loud. Both my brothers are hilarious. In fact my whole family are. I can't think of a single member of my family, who doesn't make me belly laugh once in a while. My mum wins though. She is the funniest.
To be honest, I haven't watched football in years. I used to be a Blackburn Rovers fan back in the day. Like really far back. When Alan Shearer used to play and we had something to be proud about. Don't hate me, rovers fans. I really don't get football anymore. What is especially frustrating, is the game is already 90 minutes long. Why watch the highlights at half time and then the highlights after the programme too? That just doesn't work for me.
(It wouldn't be my house unless my daughter was trying to grab some food whilst I was taking a picture).
Creamy Mushroom and Tarragon Chicken thighs
Ingredients
- 8 Chicken thighs skin off
- 6 banana shallots sliced or 2 onions sliced
- 4 garlic cloves crushed reduce if you don't like too much garlic
- 2 green chillies crushed
- 500 ml chicken stock
- 100 ml double cream
- 275 g mushrooms I used a mixture of wild, chestnut and portobello, sliced thinly
- 2 tbsp tarragon leaves
- 1 1/2 tbsp dijon mustard
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp oil
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to gas mark 6.
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Heat the oil in a large, heavy non stick pan over a high heat.
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Add the chicken to the pan for 2 minutes and cook each side, then add to an oven/casserole dish.
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Pop into the oven for 20 minutes.
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Meanwhile, add the butter into the pan and allow it to brown for a minute over a low heat.
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Add the shallots, garlic and green chilli. Braise for 10 minutes and remove from the heat.
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Once the chicken is done, add the chicken and stock to the pan and cook over a high heat until the stock reduces. (About 15 - 20 minutes).
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Add the cream and mushrooms, mustard, tarragon, seasoning and reduce the heat to low. Cook for 5 minutes.
Claudia | Gourmet Project says
can't wait to try this besties :-). do you think I could substuitute terragon with thyme? thanks!
Safira says
You can substitute with thyme but it won't have the same flavour. Tarragon is incredibly strong and fragrant and very different in flavour to thyme. It has an aniseed taste. 🙂
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy says
I only tried tarragon for the first time a few months ago, and it goes so well with chicken. I love the addition of mushrooms too.
Safira says
I agree! It is magical with chicken and i haven't stopped making variations of tarragon chicken since i made that discovery!
Aish says
Ha ha loved reading your post. It's funny. I don't like football either and I'm always trying to catch my kids on camera while they are eating or grabbing food. I love taking those action shots. Coming back to your recipe, interesting indeed. The chicken looks tender and juicy.
Safira says
Haha I just can't..me and football are history!
sue | theviewfromgreatisland says
Tarragon is one of my favorite herbs and you never see it used at all --- even I forget to cook with it! This dish is perfect for our family, we all love thighs 🙂
Safira says
It is amazing and adds so much more then any other herb!
Amanda says
This looks so good. I'll have to ask about. banana shallots at my market.
Safira says
I love banana shallots! Yay do try them 🙂