Poached chicken breast with summer vegetables, wholegrain mustard mash and tarragon sauce
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Michael Caines serves up a stunning poached chicken breast recipe, perfect for a family meal. Clever use of lower fat ingredients ensures you have all the richness of a classic creamy tarragon sauce, but without excessive fat. Poaching in stock helps to retain moisture, ensuring beautifully succulent meat for this vibrant dish.
First published in 2018
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Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Poached chicken
- 4 large skinless chicken breasts, or 6 smaller breasts
- 400ml of chicken stock
- 1 sprig of thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 sprig of tarragon, leaves picked and reserved for the sauce
Wholegrain mustard mash
- 500g of Maris Piper potatoes, peeled, washed and cut into a medium dice
- 50g of butter
- 100g of milk
- wholegrain mustard, to taste
- 30ml of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pinch of salt
- butter, for greasing
- salt
- pepper
Tarragon sauce
- 20g of unsalted butter
- 1 large shallot, sliced
- 1 garlic clove, lightly crushed
- 1 sprig of thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tbsp of white wine vinegar
- 100g of cream cheese, light or regular
- 1 tsp tarragon leaves, chopped (reserved from the sprig used for poaching)
- salt
- pepper
Summer vegetables
- 200g of chantenay carrots
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 sprig of tarragon
- 1 handful of baby spinach
- 200g of peas
- 12 asparagus spears
- 120g of French beans
- 100g of mangetout
- salt
- pepper
To garnish
SAVE RECIPE
Method
1
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4
3
Meanwhile, start the mashed potatoes. Place the potatoes in a saucepan, cover with water, add a pinch of salt and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for approximately 20 minutes
- 500g of Maris Piper potatoes, peeled, washed and cut into a medium dice
- 1 pinch of salt
4
Lightly grease an ovenproof dish with a tightly fitting lid with butter, then place the chicken breasts in the base of the dish. Pour the stock over the breasts and place the lid on top. Cook in the oven for 15 minutes
- butter, for greasing
- 4 large skinless chicken breasts, or 6 smaller breasts
5
Once the potatoes are completely cooked, strain off through a colander and allow to air-dry for 3 minutes. Pass through a potato ricer. Heat the butter and milk in a saucepan and whisk into the potato, along with the olive oil. Add the mustard to taste, season with salt and pepper and set aside
- 100g of milk
- 50g of butter
- wholegrain mustard, to taste
- pepper
- salt
6
When the chicken has been poaching for 15 minutes, remove the chicken from the oven, strain off 300ml of the stock and then place the lid back on the dish. Set aside to rest
7
To make the sauce, add the butter to a heavy-based pan and add the sliced shallots, crushed garlic, thyme, bay leaf and a pinch of salt. Sweat for 3 minutes
- 1 bay leaf
- 20g of unsalted butter
- 1 large shallot, sliced
- 1 sprig of thyme
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 garlic clove, lightly crushed
8
Add the white wine vinegar and allow to evaporate completely before adding the reserved poaching stock. Reduce until you have 200ml liquid then whisk in the cream cheese and season with salt and pepper. Pass through a fine sieve, place the sauce back into a saucepan and bring back to the boil. Add the chopped tarragon leaves
- 1 tbsp of white wine vinegar
- pepper
- 1 tsp tarragon leaves, chopped (reserved from the sprig used for poaching)
- 100g of cream cheese, light or regular
9
Place the carrots, tarragon, garlic and a pinch of salt to a plan with plenty of water, bring to the boil and cook the carrots until tender. For the green vegetables, bring a large pan of water to the boil and cook each vegetable separately until just tender. Drain and season the vegetables with a little salt and pepper. Gently reheat the mashed, if needed
- 100g of mangetout
- 200g of chantenay carrots
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 sprig of tarragon
- 1 handful of baby spinach
- 200g of peas
- 12 asparagus spears
- 120g of French beans
- pepper
- salt
10
Place the chicken breasts in a serving dish and pour over the sauce. Arrange the vegetables on top and serve the mash in a dish on the side. Garnish with pea shoots to finish
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