Tarragon-mustard chicken breasts

There are definitely times when we haven't planned a menu in advance and therefore must work with what we have on hand. In many cases, this can be an exciting prospect to see how well we can do with just the ingredients in our kitchen. I flipped through the Chicken Breasts cookbook and stumbled across this recipe for tarragon-mustard chicken. We are fans of both tarragon and mustard, and it only asked for dried tarragon (which we have stocked), which made it a win.

Recipe

adapted from Chicken BreastsServes 2 2 skinless chicken breasts, flattened slightly1-1/2 cups Panko3 tbsp Dijon mustard1/4 cup melted butter1/2 tsp salt1 tsp Hungarian paprika1 egg1/3 cup chopped onion1/2 tbsp chopped garlicblack pepper to tasteSauce2 tbsp Dijon mustard1/3 cup chopped onion1/2 tbsp chopped garlic1 tsp dried tarragon1/4 cup chicken stock1/2 cup dry white wine2 tbsp butterPreheat oven to 375 F. In a small bow, mix together Panko (or breadcrumbs), salt, paprika, and black pepper and combine well. Set aside. In a blender, combine the egg, mustard, onions, garlic and tarragon. Add melted butter in a thin but stead stream, blending until the mixture is light and fluffy. Put in a bowl. Dip the chicken breasts in the mustard mixture, coating well. Roll in the bread crumbs. Place breasts in an ovenproof pan. Pan-fry one side of the chicken breasts over medium-high heat in a small amount of olive oil and butter. Then, bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or just until done.To prepare the sauce, in a blender combine the mustard, onions, garlic, tarragon, stock and wine. Put in a saucepan, bring to a boil and reduce by half. Whisk in the butter, one tablespoon at a time. Keep warm. Turn the broiler to high. Place chicken breasts under broiler for about 2 minutes to brown. Spoon sauce over chicken and serve.

Musings

A few notes on preparation: We adapted this recipe from the original as the quantities for some of the ingredients seemed on the high side (1 cup of melted butter to soak the chicken breasts seemed a bit excessive). It asks for Hungarian paprika, though we just used regular paprika as we didn't have Hungarian on hand.All in all, it was a richly-flavoured dish, definitely with a complex array of flavours. The Dijon packed a potent punch, though without overpowering everything. We noted that fresh tarragon instead of dried would do well to amp up the tarragon flavour. It seemed a touch on the salty side, so reducing the salt slightly would rectify that. However, coupled with a good ol' favourite of mushroom risotto, it made for a wonderfully tasty meal.