Nigel Slater’s recipe for chicken, haricot beans and tarragon

Any dish that features chicken and tarragon feels spring-like to me, but this one – light, yet substantial enough for a chilly day – feels especially so.

Cut 2 large bone-in chicken breasts in half and season them with salt and black pepper. Warm a little olive oil in a sauté pan, add the chicken and let it brown lightly on both sides. Add 150g of small mushrooms, such as shimeji or little button mushrooms, and let them cook for 5 minutes in the chicken’s cooking juices.

Drain two 400g cans of haricot beans and add them to the sauté pan with 6 little sprigs of thyme, 250ml of chicken stock and the juice of half a lemon. Bring to the boil, then immediately lower the heat so the stock simmers. Leave to cook, partially covered with a lid and with the occasional stir, for 20 minutes.

Chop a generous handful of tarragon leaves and add to the chicken and mushrooms, then stir in the juice of another half a lemon. If you wish, you can also stir in 100ml of double cream at this stage. Check the seasoning and serve. Enough for 2

The beans make this substantial enough, but I do rather like some buttery mashed potatoes, too – cream, beans, tarragon and mashed potato being a thoroughly good thing.

You could use chicken thighs instead of the breasts on the bone. If you do, you will need 2 large chicken thighs per person.

Spinach, lightly cooked and thoroughly drained, is also wonderful with this.

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