Tarragon Chicken & Rice Pilaf

📝 Ingredients

• 600 g chicken breast (4 fillets, about 150 g each)
• 280 g basmati rice
• 1 brown onion (about 100 g)
• 3 shallots (about 30 g each)
• 2 chicken stock cubes + 750 ml hot water (500 ml for the rice, 250 ml for the sauce)
• 2 tbsp olive oil (1 for the rice, 1 for the chicken) + 15 g unsalted butter
• 1 bay leaf
• 200 ml light cooking cream (12% fat)
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard + 1 tsp cornflour
• 15 g fresh tarragon (1 small bunch)
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Saucepan with lid
• Large frying pan with lid
• Fine sieve
• Knife + chopping board
• Measuring jug
• Spatula

📖 Steps

1. Rinse the rice in a fine sieve under cold water, stirring it with your hand, until the water runs almost clear, then drain well. Dissolve the stock cubes in the hot water. Peel and finely chop the onion and shallots, keeping them separate.
2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in the saucepan over a medium heat and sweat the onion for 3 minutes without letting it colour. Add the drained rice and stir for 2 minutes, until the grains turn pearly and slightly translucent: that's the whole idea of a pilaf.
3. Pour in 500 ml hot stock, add the bay leaf and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for 12 minutes over a very low heat without lifting the lid, then turn off the heat and leave to stand, covered, for 10 minutes: the rice finishes swelling in the steam.
4. Meanwhile, pat the chicken breasts dry with kitchen paper and season both sides with salt and pepper. Pick the tarragon leaves, keep a few whole ones for serving and roughly chop the rest.
5. Heat the remaining oil and the butter in the large frying pan over a medium-high heat. When the butter foams, sear the chicken breasts for 4 minutes on each side without moving them, until nicely golden. Set aside on a plate: they'll finish cooking in the sauce.
6. Lower to a medium heat and fry the shallots in the pan for 2 minutes, scraping up the browned bits with the spatula. Pour in 250 ml stock and let it reduce by half for 4 to 5 minutes. Mix the cornflour and mustard into the cream, then pour into the pan, stirring.
7. Add the chopped tarragon, return the chicken and its juices to the pan, cover and simmer gently for 6 to 8 minutes, turning halfway through. The chicken is done when it's white all the way through with no trace of pink, and the sauce coats the back of a spoon.
8. Taste the sauce and adjust the salt and pepper. Fluff up the rice with a fork and remove the bay leaf. Slice the chicken, serve on the rice pilaf, spoon over plenty of sauce and scatter with the reserved tarragon leaves.