Is tarragon one of those spices gathering dust in your spice
cupboard? Or are you one of the brave souls that has ventured out beyond the
basil and dared to try tarragon in your cooking? Me? I love tarragon- I got
over my fear of new and unusual herbs years ago.
According to my trusty herb manual (The Encyclopedia of Herbs, Spices and Flavorings – a Cook’s Compendium
by Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz), tarragon is native to Siberia and became
common in Europe in the 1400s. The name is derived from a Latin word meaning “little
dragon” because of a medieval belief that it was an antidote for the bites of
venomous animals….. hmmmm…. No venomous animals around here.If you are new to the flavor of tarragon, you might be
surprised at its taste: it’s slightly peppery and very much like anise. It has
a great aroma.
I could tell you my story about when I made Tyler Florence’s
Béarnaise Sauce (which is a classic way to use tarragon) and served it over a
beautiful piece of salmon. I actually tweeted a photo of my meal to him AND HE
TWEETED ME BACK (yes ‘THE’ Tyler Florence) agreeing that it was a nice recipe….
My 30 seconds of fame.
Without further ado, I present an outstanding recipe, very
French, very special, uses every pot and pan in the kitchen, creates an
enormous mess, will get you lots of ooos and ahhhs, your family will love it,
you should serve it at a party, you need all afternoon to make it, it’s worth
every step and all the effort: Chicken and Tarragon Crepes!
Here’s what
you need:
Some crepes…..
I used two different recipes from allrecipes.com. One used melted butter and
the other used vegetable oil. You can see that I had a few boo-boos, but it
doesn’t matter, they get rolled up and smothered in sauce pretty soon. You can
make these ahead of time and stack them up on a plate.
A roast
chicken from the deli, shredded and cut in small pieces. I used the entire bird
for about 10 crepes.
Two green
onions
4 T butter
4 T flour
1 C whole
milk
¾ C chicken
stock
¼ C dry
white wine
1 t tarragon
– or to taste- it’s strong and I use a lot
2 egg yolks
2 C diced
chicken ( or more )
Here’s what
you do:
Make a pile
of crepes. I ended up using about 10 today. Plan on one to two crepes per
serving and go from there. You can see my feeble attempts at crepes… they did get better as the event
progressed I am happy to report.
Mince the
green onions and sauté them in the butter until soft. Add the flour and whisk
for a few minutes until the butter and flour are well incorporated. Add the
milk, slowly, whisking all the while. Continue to cook till thickened. Add the
chicken stock, wine, tarragon, some salt and pepper. Cook till thickened.
The next step is the tiniest bit tricky and adds to the kitchen mess. Add about 3 tablespoons of the hot sauce to a small bowl in which are waiting the egg yolks. Whisk it all together. Add a little more hot sauce to the egg mixture. Then return the egg mixture to the hot sauce. Voila! You now have tempered egg yolks and they won’t turn to scrambled eggs in your beautiful sauce! Remove half the sauce and set aside.
The next step is the tiniest bit tricky and adds to the kitchen mess. Add about 3 tablespoons of the hot sauce to a small bowl in which are waiting the egg yolks. Whisk it all together. Add a little more hot sauce to the egg mixture. Then return the egg mixture to the hot sauce. Voila! You now have tempered egg yolks and they won’t turn to scrambled eggs in your beautiful sauce! Remove half the sauce and set aside.
Add the chicken to sauce. Begin to assemble the crepes by carefully filling them with about 3 heaping tablespoons of the chicken mixture. Continue until everything is used up and the kitchen is a ridiculous mess.
Tarragon is one of my new favorite herbs. It's delicious, especially with chicken. Also, there's an award waiting for you on my blog!
ReplyDeleteThese came out so pretty...wonder if they'd be as good if I bought some Frieda's crepes from the produce department and focused my time on the filling? I've never made crepes before, and they intimidate me a little.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Sent your shipping info to Tropical Traditions...your package should be on its way soon! Can't wait to see what you do with your coconut oil...
You know, I've never made crepes. Definitely something I need to learn how to do. This recipe looks great - definitely worthy of showing off!
ReplyDelete