Chicken with Broad Beans & Mustard
By Catherine Lee, 21 July 2011 –
Serves 4
2tbsp olive oil
8 skinless chicken thighs, on the bone
I medium onion, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
250ml dry white wine
1 bay leaf
Leaves from 2 bushy sprigs of thyme
750ml chicken stock
500g young freshly shelled broad beans
2tbsp Dijon mustard
2tbsp double cream
1 handful of tarragon leaves
Heat the olive oil in a large, deep frying pan. Add half the chicken pieces and brown for about 2 minutes on each side. Move on to a plate, then repeat with the following batch. Throw the onion and garlic into the oil in the pan and cook over a gentle heat for 2-3 minutes until soft and pale gold. Put the chicken back in the pan and tip in the wine. Turn up the heat to medium, bring to a decent simmer and bubble away for about 10 minutes until the liquid is syrupy. Add the bay leaf, thyme and stock, bring to a simmer, then turn the heat down a little and cook, uncovered, for 50 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened. Meanwhile, throw the podded beans into a pan of boiling water, bring back to the boil and cook for about 5 minutes. Drain and run under the cold tap until cool. Slip off the skins of all but the very smallest beans. When the chicken is cooked, scoop from the sauce and pile onto a serving dish. Keep warm. Turn up the heat and bubble the sauce for a couple of minutes more to warm through. Taste and season if necessary, then stir through half of the tarragon. Pour the sauce over the chicken and scatter the remaining tarragon on top.
Lucas Hollweg, Sunday Times