• Yield: Serves 4

  • Time: 20 minutes prep, 25 minutes cooking, 45 minutes total


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

Garlic Wine:

  • 9 garlic cloves

  • 2 sprigs of thyme

  • 2 sprigs of tarragon

  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly crushed peppercorns

  • 1 cup dry white wine


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.

Garlic Wine
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.


From The Cooking of Southwest France: Recipes from France's Magnificent Rustic Cuisine by Paula Wolfert (Revised Edition, John Wiley and Sons, 2005). © by Paula Wolfert. Used with permission.

Paula Wolfert is the author of five cookbooks. She has won numerous awards, including the Julia Child award, the James Beard award, the M.F.K. Fisher Award for Excellence in Culinary Writing and the Tastemaker award, and has been a finalist for the Andre Simon award.