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Roasted Farm Chicken and Potatoes with Greens and Tarragon Sauce (Roti de Poulet Fermier a L'Estragon)
This is based on an old French
country recipe that is VERY simple
These quantities are for 2 hungry people, so half, double or whatever depending on the number of people you are cooking for.
Roast Extra virgin olive oil 6 Farm-reared chicken drumsticks or 4 drumsticks and 2 thighs or 2 large complete legs or 1 small farm-reared chicken Salt & pepper 4-6 garlic cloves Fresh tarragon, thyme & oregano 1 medium sized onion 6 medium sized potatoes
Vegetables Either 2 large handfuls of spinach or about 8 flowers of broccoli 1 good pinch of salt
Sauce 100ml White wine 1 chicken stock cube 100ml single cream 2 heaped tablespoons of chopped fresh tarragon salt & pepper to taste
Meat & Potatoes 1 hour 10 minutes before serving
- Preheat the oven on high at 200°C. Very lightly season the chicken skin with salt & pepper.
Place on the baking tray. Peel the potatoes and cut (if required) to be
about half the size of the chicken portions then coat in olive oil before
placing alongside the chicken in the roasting tray. Crack the garlic
cloves with the side of a knife then
Add a few branches of thyme in the base of the tray along with some fresh oregano. Some chopped tarragon can now be sprinkled over the meat and potatoes (this is optional as it just adds a little colour at this stage). Finally, drizzle a little more olive oil over all of the ingredients in the roasting tray. Place in the oven - cooking time is between 50 and 70 minutes depending on the size of the portions that you have chosen.
Vegetables 25 Minutes before serving - If using broccoli, place the flowers in salted boiling water for about 10 to 12 minutes, so they still have a slightly crunchy texture.
If using spinach, reduce the fresh leaves in very little water with a knob of butter. If using frozen spinach, then boil in a little water for just a couple of minutes.
When cooked, strain off whatever water you can and make up to 100ml. Add the stock cube and dissolve (to be used in sauce next).
Sauce 10 Minutes before serving - Remove the meat and potatoes from the oven and place the chicken and potatoes in a warm place (the cooling oven is OK so long as it is not so hot that it continues to cook the food). Place the roasting tray on the heat and add a glass of white wine. Scrape the bottom of the pan and press the juice from the garlic as the wine boils, so that a rich dark sauce begins to form. Whilst still fluid, strain the mixture through a sieve, pressing as much juice out of the garlic as possible. The juice can now be reduced further, until it is a very rich dark sauce.
Add the vegetable juice and stock cube mixture to the sauce and reduce on a high heat once more. When the acidity of the wine has almost gone and the sauce is rich and dark, add the cream and the chopped tarragon. Allow to cook on medium for about 3 to 4 minutes whilst serving the food. Taste and re-season before serving (Very Important! because the cream will soften much of the taste).
Serving - Lay out the meat and potatoes as you wish on the plate, or alternatively, serve all ingredients in serving dishes at the table. The sauce, which should be teeming with tarragon, can be spooned over the food at the table, ensuring that the tarragon is abundantly covering the chicken.
Alternatives - This picture shows a full leg portion with boiled potatoes and broccoli being used, but honestly, any green vegetable works well. The potatoes can be cooked in oil in a separate roasting pan and served apart or you can use boiled potatoes as in this image. Sautéed potatoes are another option (see this recipe for how to cook sautéed potatoes). Click here to see some more advanced ways of making the roasted potatoes.
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to
prepare and provides a fantastic option for a Sunday lunch with a bit of class.
The tarragon and chicken combination is wonderful! The image to the right
uses spinach.
quarter the onion and place both alongside
the chicken and potatoes.