Poached Chicken with Lemon and Tarragon

Name: Poached Chicken with Lemon and Tarragon
Cuisine: United Kingdom
Ingredients: 8 parsley stalks; 1 glass dry white wine; 8 sprigs tarragon plus 1 tbsp chopped; 1 bay leaf; 1 small clove of garlic, crushed; the grated rind of 1 lemon, plus some of the juice; 1 medium chicken, about 1.2kg; 2 medium leeks, cut into eighths; 1 medium onion, quartered; 1 medium carrot, sliced lengthways; ½ tsp salt; 4 tbsp double cream or crème fraiche; 3 egg yolks

Preparation info

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Classic Bull

By Stephen Bull

Published 2001

About

It’s worth buying the best chicken you can for this, as in poaching the flavour will come through naked and unadorned by the crispy skin that roasting or sautéing provide. We can’t go wrong pairing tarragon with chicken, and using the lemon is a safe bet too. This is a fine dish for a family supper. It’s also extremely good cold.

Ingredients

1 medium chicken, about 1.2kg
2 medium leeks, cut into eighths
1 medium onion, quartered

Europe
United Kingdom
Main course
London
Gluten-free

Method

Stuff the chicken with some of the leeks and put it in a saucepan just large enough to hold it comfortably and allow a lid to fit. Put in the rest of the leeks, the onion and carrot, parsley stalks, tarragon sprigs, bay leaf, garlic, lemon rind, wine, salt and 1 tbsp of the lemon juice, and pour in enough water almost to cover the bird. Press down on the chicken to expel any air. Bring up to a