Recipe: Creamy Dijon Chicken with Bacon and Spinach

Try this hearty autumn recipe from Bisous & Brioche: Classic French Recipes and Family Favourites from a Life in France

From the author of the bestselling Grape Series memoirs which detail life in Beaune, Laura Bradbury, and photographer and author Rebecca Wellman, have joined forces to create a collection of classic recipes which will transport you to a rustic French cottage surrounded by vineyards.

Bisous & Brioche includes more than 80 recipes and anecdotes which Laura has collected since arriving in France, accompanied by Rebecca’s sun-soaked photos of market visits, meal preparation and lazy lunches in the vineyard.

Laura says: “Anything with a hearty dose of Dijon mustard in it feels like Burgundy to me. This recipe includes a spin on an everyday sauce I was taught by my first host mother. It makes everything taste good. After cooking a steak or turkey fillet – really, any meat or poultry – remove the meat and stir a tablespoon of Dijon into the browned bits left in the pan. When well mixed, add crème fraiche until the sauce is your desired consistency and mix well.

“Rebecca has taken this basic sauce, replaced the crème fraîche with heavy cream, and pimped it up beautifully with bacon (what the French call lardons) and spinach so it is fancy enough to impress even the snootiest guest.”

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

½ lb thick-cut bacon, sliced crosswise into ½-inch pieces

8 boneless chicken thighs, skin on

2 onions, julienned

3 large garlic cloves, minced

1 cup dry white wine

1 cup chicken stock

½ cup heavy cream

2 tbsp grainy Dijon mustard

1 large tomato, diced

4 cups baby spinach leaves

1 tbsp thyme leaves

2 tbsp lemon juice

Method

In a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, cook the bacon until browned and the fat has been rendered, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a large platter. Keep about one tbsp of bacon fat in the pot and discard the rest.

Season the chicken on all sides with kosher salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the pot and brown it on all sides, about 15 minutes. Don’t worry if it’s not cooked all the way through, as we’ll finish it in the sauce. Transfer the chicken to the platter with the bacon.

Leave about one tbsp fat in the pot again. Cook the onions until browned and softened, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another two minutes. Add the wine and deglaze the pot, scraping all the brown bits off the bottom. Add the stock, whisk in the cream and Dijon, add the tomatoes, and season with salt and pepper.

Bring to a soft boil, then turn down the heat to medium-low. Return the bacon and chicken to the pot and simmer, uncovered, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened a bit, about 25 minutes.

Stir in the spinach and cook until it is wilted, about three minutes. Stir in the thyme and lemon juice and serve with rice, pasta, or potatoes.

Recipe from Bisous & Brioche, copyright © 2020 by Laura Bradbury and Rebecca Wellman. Reprinted with permission of TouchWood Editions.

laurabradbury.com/bisous-and-brioche

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