Chicken Cutlets with Tarragon Mushroom Sauce

I was drawn to this recipe because of the tarragon sauce. Years ago I made a wonderful veal dish from Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking with a brown tarragon sauce and fell in love with the sauce. I’ll make it for you sometime. It’s really quite simple for a Julia recipe and also impressive because of the depth of flavor of the brown sauce flavored with the fresh tarragon.

This recipe is also quite simple and uses fresh tarragon. I’ve made a few changes to make it even simpler and also a bit quicker. I omitted the mirepoix ingredients and the garlic when I reduced the chicken stock and substituted chicken cutlets to save the time of cutting the breasts in half to make cutlets. You can find the original recipe on the link below.

This is a pretty dish and goes well with a green vegetable and, if you’re in the mood, perhaps some mashed potatoes to go with the sauce.

Chicken Cutlets with Tarragon Mushroom Sauce
Adapted from Cooking Light – serves 4

2 cups unsalted chicken stock
1 bay leaf
8 boneless, skinless chicken cutlets, about 3 ounces each
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 teaspoons butter, divided
1 cup quartered button mushrooms
1/2 cup frozen pearl onions (I used Birds Eye)
1 tablespoon cold water
2 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon + more for garnish

Place chicken stock and bay leaf in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook 6 minutes or until reduced to 1 1/4 cups. Remove bay leaf with a slotted spoon and discard. Set stock aside.

Sprinkle chicken cutlets evenly with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place flour in a shallow dish and dredge chicken in flour. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil and 1 teaspoon butter to pan; swirl until butter melts. Add 4 cutlets to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until golden. Remove from pan; keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 tablespoon oil, 1 teaspoon butter, and 4 cutlets.

Return skillet to medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and onions, cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Add stock mixture, bring to a boil, scraping the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen browned bits. Combine 1 tablespoon cold water with the cornstarch in a small bowl. Stir cornstarch mixture into stock mixture. Cook the sauce 1 minute or until it thickens.  Stir in a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper and the fresh tarragon. Spoon the sauce over chicken and remove to a platter. Garnish with a sprig of tarragon and serve right away.

Printable recipe

This will be shared with Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm, Miz Helen’s Country Kitchen Full Plate Thursday, and Foodie Friday at Simple Recipes.