There are some dinners that look and taste far more impressive than the amount of effort involved, and this creamy tarragon chicken with crispy herb potatoes is definitely one of them.

It’s an easy dinner for one, combining juicy pan-fried chicken breast with a creamy garlic, mustard and fresh tarragon sauce, served alongside golden herb potatoes roasted in the oven.

There’s no complicated prep and, if like me you’re not particularly interested in piling vegetables onto every plate, it makes a very satisfying dinner exactly as it is.

Creamy Tarragon Chicken with Crispy Herb Potatoes Recipe

Serves: 1
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30–35 minutes

Ingredients

For the chicken

• 1 chicken breast
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 100ml chicken stock
• 60ml double cream
• ½ tsp English mustard powder
• 1 tbsp fresh tarragon, finely chopped
• Small knob of butter
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• A little olive oil

For the crispy potatoes

• 200–250g potatoes, peeled if preferred and cut into small cubes
• 1 tsp dried thyme or mixed herbs
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Roast the potatoes

Preheat the oven to 200°C fan / 220°C conventional.

Cut the potatoes into roughly even cubes and place them on a baking tray. Toss with the olive oil, dried herbs and a good seasoning of salt and black pepper.

Spread them out so they aren’t sitting on top of each other and roast for around 25–30 minutes, turning halfway through, until crisp and deeply golden around the edges.

2. Cook the chicken

While the potatoes are roasting, season the chicken breast with salt and black pepper.

Heat a splash of olive oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat and cook the chicken for approximately 5–6 minutes on each side, depending on its thickness, until golden and completely cooked through.

Transfer to a plate and allow it to rest while you make the sauce.

3. Make the creamy tarragon sauce

Turn the heat down and add a small knob of butter to the same frying pan.

Add the chopped garlic and cook gently for around 30 seconds, making sure it doesn’t burn.

Pour in the chicken stock, scraping the bottom of the pan to incorporate all those caramelised bits left behind by the chicken.

Stir in the English mustard powder and allow the stock to bubble and reduce by roughly half.

4. Add the cream and fresh tarragon

Reduce the heat and pour in the double cream, followed by the chopped fresh tarragon and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.

Simmer gently for 2–3 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Slice the rested chicken breast and return it to the pan, spooning the creamy tarragon sauce over the chicken.

To serve

Pile the crispy herb potatoes onto one side of the plate and arrange the sliced chicken alongside. Spoon plenty of the creamy mustard and tarragon sauce over the chicken.

The fresh tarragon is particularly good here. It has that distinctive slightly aniseed flavour that works brilliantly with chicken, while the mustard gives the sauce a little extra depth without overpowering it.

And those potatoes are made for dragging through whatever sauce is left on the plate.

What to drink with tarragon chicken

A dry Chardonnay or Chablis would be my first choice. Chardonnay works particularly well with the creamy sauce, while something with decent acidity stops the whole dish becoming too rich.

A dry Sauvignon Blanc would also work if you fancy something fresher and more aromatic.