French food Friday...Tarragon chicken with mushrooms and chickpeas

recipe and photo from here

Bonjour mes belles,

It has been a lovely sunny week and we have more sunshine on the way.  I seem to have developed a bit of an obsession with chick peas or as they are called in French  pois chiche, they really are delicious and so versatile that you can eat them with almost anything.
As many of you probably already know, tarragon chicken is an all French classic and it is normally served with a creamy mushroom sauce.
This recipe offers a  lighter and fresher version  with a drizzle of a simple yet delicious  tarragon dressing.

SERVES 4
3 tbsp olive oil
8 chicken thighs, bone in
3 banana shallots, thinly sliced
1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
400g (14oz) fresh girolles, halved
2 star anise
3 cloves garlic, sliced
bunch fresh thyme, leaves picked
tarragon dressing, see method, below
sea salt and black pepper
♥ Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large saucepan or casserole over a medium-high heat. Season the chicken thighs generously with olive oil, salt and pepper and add to the hot pan, skin-side down. Cook for about 6 minutes until the skins are golden brown, moving them once with tongs to stop them sticking to the pan. Turn them over, add the shallots and stir. Add the chickpeas, girolles and star anise and allow the mushrooms to reduce in volume by half, then turn the thighs back to skin-side down. Add the garlic and thyme and let everything infuse for a few moments. The chicken should be cooked through after about 15 minutes in total; the juice should run clear when pierced with a knife. Remove the star anise and serve with some tarragon dressing (below) drizzled on top.

FOR THE TARRAGON DRESSING Grind ¾ tsp chopped garlic to a paste with a little salt, using a large pestle and mortar. Add the following: 6 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon leaves, 180ml (6¼ fl oz) extra-virgin olive oil, 2 tbsp cider vinegar, 2 tbsp lemon juice and ¾ tsp sugar. Taste to check for seasoning. Leftover dressing keeps for 3 days in the fridge in a sealed container, and is also just made for chicken and avocado salads.

 

.....bon appetit à tous, Leeann