Chicken with Peppercorn Sauce
Submitted by jat
Spice-rubbed chicken breasts with a luxurious green peppercorn cream sauce made with white wine and chicken stock. A bistro-style French classic you can pull off at home in about an hour.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
15 minCOOK
45 minREADY
60 minGreen peppercorn sauce is one of those French bistro staples that sounds intimidating but is actually straightforward once you break it down.
The chicken gets seasoned with a ground blend of salt, pepper, paprika, garlic, and basil, then pan-seared until just cooked through.
The sauce starts in a separate pan where onions and white wine cook down to a syrup. Half the peppercorns get crushed right in the pan for deep, peppery flavor, while the other half stay whole for little bursts of heat in every bite.
Chicken stock reduces by half, everything gets blended smooth, then heavy cream goes in to make it rich and velvety. Pour it over the chicken and you are eating like you are sitting in a Parisian bistro.
Kitchen Tips
- Reduce the wine to a syrup, not a burnt mess: Watch it carefully. You want it thick and glossy, not scorched on the bottom.
- Blend the sauce completely smooth: This is not a chunky sauce. The whole peppercorns you add back at the end provide all the texture you need.
- Do not overcook the chicken: Pull it from the pan when the juices just barely run clear. The sauce adds moisture, but dried-out chicken cannot be saved.
Ingredients
Directions
Grind the salt, pepper, paprika, garlic and basil until it is a powder and then sprinkle this mixture over the chicken breasts.
Heat the 4 tbsp oil in a frying pan and sauté the chicken until it is cooked but not overcooked and dry.
Meanwhile, brush another frying pan with remaining cooking oil and sauté the onions until they are transparent.
Add the white wine and reduce until it is a syrup.
Add ½ of the peppercorns and crush with a fork in the pan.
Add the chicken stock and reduce by ½.
Now, tranfser the liquid from the pan into blender and blend until smooth.
Place the mixture back in the frying pan, add the rest of the peppercorns (do not crush this time) and the 35% cream.
Cook this slowly until the mixture thickens. Pour over the cooked chicken breasts and enjoy.
Comments
What does 1 each mean, is it a teaspoon/tablespoon??
Thanks for your comment to point the problems out, all the "each" should be "x" to taste according to your own taste. Enjoy!