Chicken Breasts with Garlic Wine (Poulet au Vin d'Ail)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: Serves 4
Chef Michel Trama runs one of the French Southwest's culinary treasures, Les Loges de l'Aubergade, a stylish three-star restaurant in the region of the Agen. There he produces ethereal, flawlessly balanced dishes using local products. This deceptively simple recipe includes chicken breasts coated in a sweet nutty flavored sauce made with garlic-infused white wine.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup Garlic Wine (recipe follows)
- 4 boneless chicken breast halves, skin on
- Coarse kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- Flour, for dredging
- 2 tablespoons clarified butter
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons fresh tarragon, plus additional for seasoning
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 9 garlic cloves
- 2 sprigs of thyme
- 2 sprigs of tarragon
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly crushed peppercorns
- 1 cup dry white wine
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Instructions
- 1. Make the Garlic Wine 1 to 2 days in advance.
- 2. Trim the chicken breasts and cut away fat and sinews. Remove the thin fillet that looks like a long strip on the boned side (Save these strips in the refrigerator or freezer for use at some other time for a quick sauté.) Place the chicken breasts between sheets of plastic wrap and flatten lightly with a rolling pin. Season with salt and pepper. Dredge the breasts in flour, shaking off the excess.
- 3. Heat the clarified butter and oil in a large skillet over moderately high heat until sizzling. Add the chicken breasts and sauté on both sides, until lightly browned and just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a platter and cover with foil to keep warm.
- 4. Discard all but 1 tablespoon fat from the skillet. Add the tarragon and cook over gentle heat for 10 seconds. Deglaze with the garlic wine and 1/3 cup water and bring to a boil. Add the cream and boil to reduce until thick enough to coat a spoon. Adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper, and more tarragon to taste. Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve at once.
- Makes 1 cup
- 1. Halve the garlic cloves. If you see any green shoots, remove them. Put the garlic, thyme, tarragon, and crushed peppercorns in a 1-pint canning jar.
- 2. Bring the wine to a boil in an enameled or stainless steel saucepan. Pour over the garlic and seasonings in the jar. Let cool, then cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 days.
- 3. Strain the wine through cheesecloth and return to a clean jar; discard the solids. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
About The Show
In 1994, acclaimed food writer and cooking teacher Lynne Rossetto Kasper was receiving accolades for her debut book, The Splendid Table, which at that time was the only book to have won both the James Beard and Julia Child Cookbook of the Year awards. Among the many people enchanted by the book was producer and foodie Sally Swift, who thought the time could be right for a radio program on food.
