Chicken in lemon and mustard sauce

This is my quick and easy version of 'poulet au blanc', the famous French chicken dish. It's lighter than the original cream-rich dish, but not deliberately: I simply discovered I had no cream left in the fridge when I was going to make it and so decided to improvise, with things I did have in the cupboard. The result was delicious.

For two people, you need 4 chicken thigh fillets, a little butter, an onion, one or two garlic cloves, depending on taste, salt, pepper, parsley and tarragon, juice of half a lemon, tablespoon full Dijon mustard, one egg yolk, a little flour, and chicken stock. Dice the chicken, fry quickly with the onion and garlic. Add the salt, pepper, most of the herbs, and then the stock, to just cover the chicken. Simmer for about 20 minutes. When the chicken is cooked, take off stove. Pour off the stock into a dish. Melt some butter in a pan, add a little flour to make a roux, then add the stock bit by bit to make a thick smooth sauce. Add the mustard, and then the lemon juice, stir for a few seconds. Take the pan off the stove, stir in the egg yolk till well-mixed in. Serve the chicken in the sauce, sprinkle herbs on it if you wish. Very good with rice.

This is my quick and easy version of 'poulet au blanc', the famous French chicken dish. It's lighter than the original cream-rich dish, but not deliberately: I simply discovered I had no cream left in the fridge when I was going to make it and so decided to improvise, with things I did have in the cupboard. The result was delicious.

For two people, you need 4 chicken thigh fillets, a little butter, an onion, one or two garlic cloves, depending on taste, salt, pepper, parsley and tarragon, juice of half a lemon, tablespoon full Dijon mustard, one egg yolk, a little flour, and chicken stock. Dice the chicken, fry quickly with the onion and garlic. Add the salt, pepper, most of the herbs, and then the stock, to just cover the chicken. Simmer for about 20 minutes. When the chicken is cooked, take off stove. Pour off the stock into a dish. Melt some butter in a pan, add a little flour to make a roux, then add the stock bit by bit to make a thick smooth sauce. Add the mustard, and then the lemon juice, stir for a few seconds. Take the pan off the stove, stir in the egg yolk till well-mixed in. Serve the chicken in the sauce, sprinkle herbs on it if you wish. Very good with rice.