Sauteed Chicken Breasts Recipe with Tarragon-Mustard Pan Sauce

Categories: Chicken, Herbs, January2012, Main Dish, SBF

Ingredients

• 4 boneless-skinless chicken breasts
• 1 T olive oil (use more or less, depending on your pan)
• salt and pepper, plus other seasonings of your choice to season chicken (I used Szeged Chicken Rub and pepper, but no salt)
• 1/2 cup chicken stock (I used homemade chicken stock, but you could use canned chicken broth, preferably low sodium)
• 1/3 cup half and half or milk
• 1 T Dijon mustard
• 2-3 tsp. finely chopped fresh tarragon (preferably French tarragon)

Directions

1. Trim all visible fat and tendons from chicken breasts. (I save these scraps in the freezer until I get enough to make chicken stock.) If chicken breasts are quite thick, pound them with a meat mallet or other heavy object until they are about 3/4 inch thick.

2. Wash tarragon leaves and finely chop with chef’s knife.

3. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a heavy frying pan just big enough to hold all the chicken without crowding. While oil heats, season chicken with seasonings of your choice. Add the chicken and saute until chicken is cooked through and well-browned, about 10 minutes. (Actual cooking time will depend on your pan and how high you have the heat.)

4. Remove chicken to a plate and tent with foil to keep warm. Add chicken stock to pan, scraping off any browned bits, and cook until reduced by half, about 2-3 minutes. Whisk in mustard, tarragon, half and half and any juices from the chicken which have accumulated on the plate and cook until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes more. Serve immediately, with some of the sauce drizzled over each piece of chicken.

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