Chicken Luisita – Recipe

I got some fresh tarragon to make Lobster Thermidor and I wanted to use what was left before it went bad.  So I went looking for an easy recipe that had ingredients I had at home.  I completely lucked out with Peter Micheli’s Chicken Louisa at Epicurious.com.   I didn’t have tomatoes, though, so I substituted with tomato puree.  I also used leftover rose champagne instead of wine.  For that reason, I’m changing the name – slightly :-).

This recipe can be done in much less than an hour. I served it with plain couscous, but it was also great with homemade white bread.

Chicken Luisita

  • 8 boneless, skinless chicken thigh fillets
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • 1 Tbsp.  olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
  • 1 shallot, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1 15 oz can tomato puree
  • 2 Tbsp. fresh tarragon, finely chopped
  • 1/2 tsp. chicken stock base
Pat chicken dry.  Season with salt and pepper.
Heat oil and butter together in a frying pan over moderately high heat.  Brown chicken on both sides, about 2 minutes per side.  Remove chicken and keep warm in a separate plate.
Add shallot and cook for one minute.  Deglaze with the wine and cook until wine is reduced by half. Add the cream, tomato puree, tarragon and chicken base.  Mix, bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to low.  Cook for 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Return chicken to the pot, together with any juices on the plate.  Cook until the chicken is cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes.

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