Herbed Chicken Saute

Yes, another wonderful recipe from Laura Calder. The first time I made this I used parsley with some dill, and Ben didn't seem to like it as much, but I did. I figured it was probably that the herbs were subtle flavours, and my Ben tends to like stronger flavours (although he has an amazing palate). The second time I made it was with tarragon and parsley, and Ben, Susan and Diyan loved it. It was also a confirmation that following through with each step is very important. I think the first time I made it I didn't brown the chicken at a high enough temperature (the time was the same, but the result was different). Browning is where loads of flavour comes from, so why skip this step?

The one thing was the cooking time - the last 15 minutes may be a bit too long. I checked about half-way through with a thermometer and immediately pulled it off the heat because it was way over.

1/4 cup (2oz/58gr) butter or vegetable oil
1 chicken (about 3 pounds) cut into eight
salt and pepper to season
½ cup dry white wine
4 Tbsps chopped, fresh herbs (such as thyme, rosemary, parsley, chives, dill, tarragon, chervil or coriander)
Half a lemon, for seasoning

1. Melt the butter in a sauté pan. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper, and brown well on all sides, 5 minutes, working in batches if necessary. Remove the chicken. Deglaze the pan with the wine, scraping up the good bits from the bottom. Put the chicken back in the pan, cover, and cook gently for 15 minutes.
2. Sprinkle in the herbs, cover, and continue cooking until the chicken is tender, 15 minutes more, or until white meat reaches 165F and dark meat 180F. Remove the chicken to a serving dish and allow to rest while boiling the pan juices down, if necessary. Check the seasoning, adding a squirt of lemon if you like. Serve.