Tarragon mustard chicken with white beans
Golden chicken thighs and creamy white beans in a light Dijon, white wine and fresh-tarragon pan sauce, finished with a little butter rather than cream. Allow about 50 minutes; batch searing or thicker thighs will take longer.
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Servings
Originally developed for 4 servings.
Ingredient checklist
Method
- No timer needed
Drain, rinse and thoroughly drain the beans. Finely chop the shallots and garlic. Chop the tarragon and set aside in two portions: 6 g for the sauce and 2 g for serving. Dice the butter and keep it cold. Pat the chicken dry with kitchen paper, open each thigh flat and season with the 1 g salt and ¼ tsp pepper. Do not wash raw chicken; wash your hands and clean the board and utensils after handling it, keeping its juices away from the prepared ingredients.
- 04:30
Heat the pan over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes. Add 15 ml oil, then arrange the chicken flat with gaps between pieces. Sear without moving for 4–5 minutes, until golden and readily released, then turn and cook for 3 minutes on the other side. Transfer to a plate; it will not yet be cooked through. If the chicken cannot fit without crowding, sear in two batches, allowing another 8–9 minutes.
- No timer needed
Before adding any aromatics, inspect the pan residue: golden to dark brown is useful; blackened residue smells burnt and will make the sauce bitter. If burnt, take the pan off the heat, carefully pour the fat into a heatproof container and wipe out the residue with kitchen paper held in tongs. Return to medium heat and add the conditional 10 ml fresh oil. Otherwise retain the existing oil and simply reduce the heat to medium. Add the prepared shallots and cook for 3 minutes, stirring, until softened. Add the garlic for 30 seconds, then stir in 15 ml of the stock to loosen the brown residue.
- 02:00
Add the wine and scrape the base of the pan. Simmer for about 2 minutes, until reduced by roughly half. Stir in 20 g Dijon and the remaining 235 ml stock. Bring to a gentle simmer, allowing about 2 minutes; start the chicken's finishing time only once the sauce is simmering.
- 07:00
Return the chicken and its collected juices. Cover and simmer gently for 7 minutes. Turn the thighs and nestle the prepared beans around them, then simmer uncovered for another 5 minutes. Fold the beans gently once or twice rather than stirring vigorously. They should become piping hot but remain intact; keep the sauce at a gentle simmer rather than a rolling boil.
- 02:00
Check each thigh at its thickest centre with a clean thermometer: it must reach 75°C and remain there for 30 seconds. The flesh should also be opaque, with no pink centre or bloody juices, but appearance does not replace the temperature check. Continue simmering and check again if needed. Transfer cooked chicken to a clean plate and rest for 2 minutes. While it rests, simmer the beans and sauce uncovered for about 2 minutes if watery, or leave them off the heat if already spoonable.
- No timer needed
Take the pan off the heat. Stir in the remaining 10 g Dijon, the prepared 6 g tarragon and the cold diced butter until glossy. If too thick or sharply seasoned, add water in 15 ml additions, up to 50 ml, and taste again. The sauce should lightly coat the beans while still pooling on the plate. Do not boil again after adding the butter and herbs.
- No timer needed
Return the chicken and any resting juices to the pan and spoon sauce over it. Divide the chicken, beans and sauce equally between four plates, scatter with the reserved 2 g tarragon and serve promptly.
Chef tips
- The schedule assumes one searing batch and unburnt pan residue. Two batches add about 8–9 minutes; cleaning a burnt pan or cooking thicker thighs to the safe endpoint also takes longer.
- Inspect the residue before adding shallots or garlic. If blackened, discard the fat, wipe the pan and use the listed conditional 10 ml fresh oil; do not discard aromatics already cooked into a sauce.
- Dry the chicken thoroughly and leave gaps between pieces so it browns rather than steams.
- Chicken thickness determines the finishing time. Continue simmering if necessary; if the sauce is drying out, use some of the listed water before finishing.
- Drain the beans thoroughly, add them late and fold gently to preserve their shape.
- Reduce a watery sauce only after removing cooked chicken. If too salty or thick, loosen with water rather than reducing further; the 50 ml allowance is shared between cooking and finishing corrections.
Equipment check
- Heavy-based 30 cm sauté pan with a lid, approximately 3 litres capacity
- Tongs and a heatproof spoon
- Measuring jug and kitchen scales
- Colander
- Chopping board and knife
- Instant-read food thermometer
- Separate plates for partially cooked and fully cooked chicken
- Kitchen paper and a heatproof container for discarded fat
Tags
Behind the dish.
Overview
This French-style stovetop dinner pairs browned, juicy chicken with creamy, intact white beans. Reduce the wine before adding stock, then finish with Dijon, fresh tarragon and cold butter off the heat. The sauce should be glossy and spoonable, not a thick bean stew. No oven is needed.
Ingredient notes
Use cooked, tinned cannellini beans: two 400 g tins usually provide about 480 g drained beans. Haricot beans work at the same drained weight; dry beans are not a direct substitute. Smooth Dijon makes an even sauce. Choose low-salt stock and taste before adding any further seasoning.
If fresh tarragon is unavailable, use 1 tsp dried tarragon with the stock and omit the fresh garnish. For an alcohol-free version, replace the wine with 75 ml additional low-salt stock; add 1–2 tsp lemon juice at the end only if acidity is needed. The extra oil is conditional, solely for replacing discarded fat if the pan residue burns.
Contains mustard and milk. Wine may contain sulphites; stock may contain celery, wheat or other allergens. Check labels, including those of substitutes. The dish is gluten-free only if the stock and mustard are verified gluten-free.
Serving & storage
Divide the chicken, beans and sauce between four plates. Bread or a green salad is optional and is not included in the recipe yield.
Cool leftovers promptly in shallow portions and refrigerate within 2 hours at 5°C or colder. Use within 48 hours or freeze sooner. Thaw frozen portions in the fridge. Reheat only once, until steaming hot throughout, adding a little water to loosen the sauce.
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