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You are here: Home / Recipes / Gluten-free / Chicken in a creamy mustard, preserved lemon and rosemary sauce

Chicken in a creamy mustard, preserved lemon and rosemary sauce

by Jeanne Horak on June 21, 2012 12 Comments in Gluten-free, Main course - poultry

 

The first time I every heard of rosemary being symbolic of remembrance was when my mother died.  My brother’s wife’s sister visited my dad a few days later and brought him a potted rosemary plan, explaining that rosemary was the herb of remembrance.  I loved the idea of a living remembrance, rather than the floral arrangements that everybody else gave us.  To me, the floral arrangements seemed to be a deeply depressing metaphor for my mother’s physical decline and death, and watching them slowly wilt and discolour made me feel miserably unhappy rather than comforted.  The rosemary had the exact opposite effect, uplifting me with its smell and vibrant greenery.  For a few years, my father cherished the rosemary plant as it grew in his sun-room.  But as he got older and more forgetful, the plant was easily forgotten and one day I arrived for a visit to find the rosemary’s pot empty and the rosemary gone to its grave.  Ironic, don’t you think, that a herb of remembrance should fall victim to forgetfulness.

 

MustardRosemaryChicken1

 

It did make me curious about rosemary’s association with memory though, and a little reading showed me that rosemary has a very old reputation for improving memory.  For newlyweds, it is used as a symbol for remembrance during weddings: a promise not to forget the vows they made that day.  It is also used as a symbol of remembrance at funerals, where mourners would throw rosemary into graves: a promise not to forget the impact that lost loved ones had on your life and the memories that you shared with them. A particularly Australis connection between rosemary and remembrance seems to stem from the fact that the plentiful wild rosemary grows in the area around Gallipoli in Turkey, the scene of a catastrophic defeat for the ANZAC corps in World War I.  Even more intriguing is the fact that modern scientific studies seem to bear out rosemary’s reputation to an extent.  When the smell of rosemary was pumped into cubicles where people were working, the performed better in memory tests; and in a 2012 study one of rosemary’s main chemical components was found to improve speed and accuracy in cognitive performance.

 

PreservedLemons

 

IMG_0086 Mustard

 

On our recent visit to France, we spent a couple of days in the mustard capital of France – Dijon.  It seems that every man and his dog is eager to fling themselves on the Eurostar and visit Lille for the weekend if they do not feel like Paris, but because it is that much further Dijon does not get the same amount of attention.  But to me, it is a far more pleasant city to spend a few days exploring.  The city itself is attractive: its oldest buildings largely escaped major bombing in World War II;  it has a great art museum and a bustling Friday market; it has a glorious open square in front of the Hotel de Ville full of modern fountains and pavement cafés; it is home to the mustard lover’s paradise of Maille; and it is surrounded by vineyards and has a great dining scene. What more could you want?

For our only lunch in Dijon, we visited a restaurant that had been recommended to us by a friend of a friend – Cafe Gourmand, in the Place de la Liberation in front of the Hotel de Ville.  We sat outside, watched the passing parade and ordered out lunch.  My first choice was unavailable, so I settled for a chicken dish – and it turned out to be one of the nicest things I ate on the trip: succulent pieces of chicken breast cooked in a creamy mustard sauce that had been given brightness and freshness by the addition of preserved limes and fresh rosemary. Simple, satisfying and packed with flavour.  I was in love. Back home, the sight of the jar of Bahncke traditional Danish mustard that we had received in our goodie bags from sponsor Gourmelli at the recent Plate to Page food writing & photography workshop was all it took to ignite the memory of the dish and persuade me to recreate it. So perhaps rosemary is not the only culinary herb that’s good for the memory 😉

Other blogger recipes using chicken breasts include:

  • Kevin’s skinny chicken saltimbocca
  • Meeta’s Parmesan & Thai basil crusted chicken
  • Michelle’s chicken breasts with a creamy green peppercorn sauce

 

 

 

MustardRosemaryChicken2

 

CHICKEN IN A MUSTARD, PRESERVED LEMON AND ROSEMARY SAUCE (serves 2)

Ingredients:

2 large shallots, very finely chopped
15g butter
2 chicken breasts (boneless and skinless), chopped into goulash-sized chunks
50ml full-bodied white wine
150ml chicken stock
2-3 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1 large preserved lemon, chopped
3-4 generous Tbsp mustard (I used Bahncke Taffel mustard from Gourmelli)
50ml double cream
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Heat the butter in a large heavy-bottomed frying pan until it foams.  Add the shallots and sautee over medium heat till the shallots are translucent but not browned.  Add the chicken and continue to sautee and stir until the chicken is cooked and beginning to brown.

Add the wine and stir vigorously to ensure nothing is sticking to the pan, then add the chicken stock, rosemary and preserved lemon. Stir in the mustard and mix well, then turn down the heat, cover and allow to simmer for 15 mins or so, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is beginning to reuce and thicken.

Stir in the cream, test for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste.  Heat through, then serve immediately.  Mine was served on a mixture of brown and wild rice, garnished with fresh rosemary, and washed down with some French Rully – my newest and most favourite white wine discovery.  And the verdict?  I think this will be my new go-to chicken recipe on a weeknight.  It takes almost no time or effort to make and it is simply packed with flavour.  The preserved lemon really makes the flavours sing and lifts it out of the realms of the ordinary – an instant classic in my house.

 

DISCLOSURE – I received the Bahncke mustard as a free sample in the Plate to Page Somerset goodie bag

 

Brtmums LogoTomorrow, Friday 22 June, I will be speaking as part of a round-table discussion entitled “British Blogging Now” at the Britmums Live 2012 blogging conference in London – hope to see you there!

 

 

 

 

 

SAFWIBI logoThis Sunday, 24 June, you can hear me speak at the 3rd South African Food & Wine Blogger Indaba in Cape Town, South Africa.  I am speaking on “Ethics, etiquette and why we blog”, as well as presenting two photography workshops – one on getting your camera off the auto setting, and one on Photoshop/post-processing together with the talented Alida Ryder of Simply Delicious.  Buy your ticket today – they are selling out fast!

 

 

 

 

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  1. Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) says

    June 21, 2012 at 4:53 pm

    Goodness — so much I didn’t know about rosemary. I love the use of preserved lemon with mustard. I always have a jar of lemons going in my fridge, but don’t use them as much as I should. Thanks for this good idea.

    Reply
  2. Kit says

    June 21, 2012 at 5:15 pm

    Sounds a lovely combination. I love mustardy sauces with chicken.
    Rosemary tea is a really good healthy drink too – it’s supposed to be energising, improve concentration and also balances blood pressure and is good for coping with stress, all according to my favourite herb lady, Margaret Roberts. I must start drinking it again!

    Reply
  3. Andrew says

    June 21, 2012 at 5:37 pm

    Never been to Dijon – sounds like it is a must! (I was trying to get a pun in there with must and ard but my brain failed me)
    I do like the use of the near black background in those photos. It really sets off the colour of the mustard. Its like those photo galleries that show on a black screen; it really brings out the colours.

    Reply
  4. Kalyn says

    June 21, 2012 at 6:41 pm

    Sounds like a lovely recipe. I didn’t know that about rosemary being the plant of remembrance, but I always have it in my garden!

    Reply
  5. Rosa says

    June 22, 2012 at 5:44 pm

    What a wonderful combination of flavors! I love anything citrusy, herby and mustardy.
    Dijon is a place I would really like to visit.
    Cheers,
    Rosa

    Reply
  6. Katja Soehngen says

    June 23, 2012 at 7:46 pm

    Did read the recipe the day before yesterday, bought all the ingredients and prepared it tonight….
    Simply delicious and very easy!
    Will try to get the some Rully before prepraing it the next time 🙂

    Reply
  7. Brian @ A Thought For Food says

    June 25, 2012 at 7:48 pm

    This looks so good on the chicken… do you think it’d work well on salmon or another fish? Swordfish?

    Reply
  8. Krista says

    June 26, 2012 at 12:45 pm

    I had no idea about the link between remembrance and rosemary, Jeanne. It IS a lovely thing to have something ALIVE to celebrate the memory of someone who has died. I really, really like that. 🙂 This chicken dish sounds wonderful. It’s so cold here right now I’m craving all things comforting and warm. 🙂

    Reply
  9. joey says

    June 26, 2012 at 2:32 pm

    This looks delicious! I love mustard and like to using it in cooking…will try this soon! I also visited Dijon for a weekend years ago and enjoyed it very much 🙂

    Reply
  10. Simone says

    June 27, 2012 at 9:34 pm

    I love Dijon! Both the mustard and the city. I went there a few years ago on the way to the south of France (Perpignan) where I was gonna be shooting a wedding and I loved Dijon. We only stayed there one day but still I loved it. Brought home all sorts of mustards too.
    I never knew rosemary had a link to remembrance. I have got to remember that (no pun intended)
    Love the look of this dish!

    Reply
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Jeanne Horak is a freelance food and travel writer; recipe developer and photographer. South African by birth and Londoner by choice, Jeanne has been writing about food and travel on Cooksister since 2004. She is a popular speaker on food photography and writing has also contributed articles, recipes and photos to a number of online and print publications. Jeanne has also worked with a number of destination marketers to promote their city or region. Please get in touch to work with her Read More…

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