cookbook_challenge | Chicken with Fennel and Tarragon

The offspring having returned to university, I am going back to cooking my way through my mother's recipe book. This looks like it has been cut out of a magazine.

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
4 chicken thighs
1 onion, finely chopped
1 fennel bulb, sliced
1/2 lemon
200ml hot chicken stock
200g tub creme fraiche
1 small bunch tarragon

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan), mark 6.

2. Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole. Add the chicken thighs and fry for 5min until brown then remove and set them aside to keep warm.

3. Add the onion to the pan and fry for 5 min, then add the fennel and cook for 5-10 min until softened.

4. Squeeze in the juice from the lemon and pour into the pan, then add the stock, bring to simmer and cook until the sauce is reduced by half.

5. Stir in the creme fraiche and return the chicken to the pan. Stir once to mix, then cover and cook in the oven for 25-30 min.

6. Roughly chop the tarragon and stir into the sauce.

Verdict: A perfectly nice chicken in a cream sauce recipe, but nothing special.