French Tarragon And Chicken

French tarragon herb is hard to find in the stores. Once in a while stores sell the bland Russian or Mexican tarragon and they aren't as good as the French variety which has more slender leaves than the 2 mentioned. One time I found a true French tarragon and it was a bit of a head-scratcher because it came from Morocco or maybe Turkey.

I wanted to make chicken tarragon dish and/or salad. I bought a small plant from eBay in late March of this year and didn't expect already thriving plant but that's what I got. After less than a month, the herb plant is growing steadily and ready to be used. I'm hoping it doesn't die because French tarragon is hard to grow, I hear.

I created my own recipes based on several recipes I found on the web because I didn't want any strong flavors like Dijon mustard or regular onions that will overpower the delicate flavor of tarragon.

Chicken With Tarragon Sauce
1 teaspoon sea salt
dash of ground white pepper
½ pound boneless chicken breast halves
2 + 1 tablespoons butter
½ teaspoon finely chopped shallot
½ tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup white wine
2 tablespoons snipped fresh tarragon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¼ cup heavy cream

• Season chicken with salt and pepper. 
• Heat 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat and brown chicken pieces. Transfer chicken to a dish, cover, and set aside. 
• Add shallot to the skillet; cook until soft and translucent. Add to the chicken and set aside.
• Add the remaining butter to the skillet and stir in the flour; cook for a minute; do not let brown. 
• Add the white wine and stir until smooth. Add the tarragon and the chicken and shallot combination. Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes or until wine is reduced by half. 
• Stir lemon juice into the cream and pour into the chicken. 

• Simmer on low heat for a minute until cream is heated through and chicken is evenly coated with sauce. Serve immediately. 

Chicken Asparagus Tarragon Salad

½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup sour cream

½ teaspoon sea salt, optional

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon snipped fresh French tarragon

¼ teaspoon snipped scallion, optional

1 precooked chilled boneless chicken breast, diced

1 cup chilled cooked but still crispy asparagus, sliced

iceberg or romaine lettuce cups or pita bread

• In a medium bowl, combine mayo, sour cream, salt, lemon juice, tarragon, and scallion. Stir to combine completely. Taste and adjust seasoning. Fold in chicken and asparagus. Leave in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Spoon into lettuce cups or pita.

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The herb grows really fast so I snipped 2 small sprigs and put them in a small bottle then added [white/distilled] sugar cane vinegar. I'll use it for simple vinaigrette.