I had some bits and bobs in the fridge to use up so this was a bit of a freestyle dinner, but boy was it good! It turns out creme fraiche, mustard and tarragon are a match made in heaven! Plenty of leftovers for lunch tomorrow from the below recipe (my husband prefers a more ‘minimalist’ plate of food – see the next picture down, whereas I am a farmer’s daughter who loves a big plate of spuds!)
Ingredients (serves 2)
2 chicken thighs & 2 chicken drumsticks (or 4 of either)
100 ml white wine
small bunch of thyme
500g baby new potatoes
200g green beans
200ml creme fraiche
2 tsp wholegrain mustard
small bunch of tarragon, leaves picked and finely chopped
small bunch of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
Method
1. Preheat oven to 200c. Place a large cast iron skillet over a high heat with a glug of oil. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper all over. Pop the potatoes into a pan of boiling salted water and bring up to the boil again with a lid on.
2. Place the chicken pieces, skin side down, into the skillet and move them around to prevent them from sticking. Keep moving them around until the skin has gotten crispy, then flip over and cook for a few more minutes.
3. Remove the chicken from the pan. Drain all but a teaspoon of the fat away from the chicken pan, then put it back over the heat and pour in the wine – there will be steam! Add the sprigs of thyme and the chicken, then put a lid on it and place in the oven.
4. Add the green beans to the water with the potatoes. After about 3 minutes, test the potatoes – if they are parboiled, drain everything. If not, wait another few minutes until the potatoes are almost cooked (don’t let them go too far as they’ll turn mushy, and you’ll be finishing them off in the oven anyway).
4. Lift the chicken pan out of the oven. Pick the leaves off the thyme sprigs and discard the stems. Add the potatoes and beans to the pan, mixing well to make sure everything is covered in the nice chicken juices. Pop back in the oven with the lid off for another 20 minutes or so, until the chicken pieces are cooked through and the potato skins have gotten a little brown. Give everything a shake after about 10 minutes, to make sure the potatoes brown all over.
5. While that’s cooking, simply mix the creme fraiche, parsley and mustard in a bowl. Add half the tarragon first, and if it’s not too overpowering keep adding it until the sauce is to your liking. Set aside.
6. When the chicken and potatoes are ready, remove the potatoes with a slotted spoon and mix them in the creme fraiche sauce. Plate them up with the chicken and beans, spooning some of the delicious cooking juices over the beans. Bon appetit!
Yvo Cooks 