It had been worth it though as I had a very entertaining night out in town as we sampled real ale at two different pubs including a local pub that has a juke box that plays tasteful progressive rock and has the pick of the beer from the local breweries on offer. It is certainly my town's best kept secret and one of the jewels in the crown of its public houses.
Another plus of consuming the beer the night before was that I had something to sweat out on a walk that morning with my dog, who I had custody of for the weekend, and by the time I had pounded up and down the nearby hills I was ready for a substantial meal.
My music taste, as those who know me well will tell you, is eclectic and ranges from the hip to the tragically un-hip. The album on my MP3 Player was perhaps a touch closer to the latter part of the spectrum and was Chris Rea's 1978 debut Whatever Happened to Benny Santini? This album is now out of print and hard to find despite being a rare hit album for him in America, in fact it is his highest charting record there to date. Still its mellow warmth, that mainly stems from Rea's gravelly voice, and eclectic mix of rock, ballads, country and powerful guitar made it the perfect soundtrack to banish the winter blues and shake off the vestiges of a hangover.
I got a bunch of brocolli and washed it thoroughly. I then cut parts of it off so that the brocolli pieces looked like minature trees, coincidentally a fellow foodie had mentioned this very fact the night before about the appearance of brocolli when cut in this way. I also peeled a potato and sliced it widthways prior to simmering both the potato and the brocolli for a period of ten minutes. After this time I left the brocolli and the potatoes in then pan to cool once I had turned off the heat.
In the meantime I fried whilst turning steadily two chicken breasts. I fried them in rapeseed oil, an oil that is both cheaper than olive oil and also as good for preparing meat with. Once the chicken had finished its brief encounter with the wok I added it with the potatoes and the broccolli into a glass ovenproof dish that I had greased liberally with margarine. I then added a diced white onion, a thinly sliced garlic clove, half a pint of chicken stock, some squeezed mustard, a hint of black pepper and two tablespoons of dried tarragon to the dish. I spread all the seasoning widely around the dish.
After I had ensured that the stock covered the chicken and vegetables fully I put the dish in the oven and then cooked it on gas mark 6 for one hour.
After an hour I checked the chicken by slicing part of one side of it and this revealed that the meat inside had become white, and formed tender strips when cut into. For me this is a sure fire sign that chicken is cooked and something I look very carefully for when having a chicken dinner as chicken is a meat that if you undercook it then it can have unwanted consequences for your short term health.
Having satisfied myself that the chicken was cooked through I served it with the rest of the dish. I have to say that there is nothing that is much better than a chicken dinner on a Sunday lunchtime and this recipe gave me no evidence to change that view. The use of the tarragon also worked well as it has a slight aniseed- like taste that contrasts well with the salty and savoury taste of the stock. A good dish to have after a hangover- busting walk that will set you up for a productive recovery day.
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| Freshly cooked, juicy chicken that was covered in flavoursome tarragon |
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