Just because obscure herbs are fun

October 10, 2010 11:31 AM

What are some dishes that go well with tarragon? So far I have used it in sauce bearnaise and with oven baked fish but would be interested to find out other uses for this, let's be honest, awesome herb.
posted by kitchencrush to Food & Drink (25 answers total)

Best answer: I love tarragon. I regularly use it with chicken dijon, ratatouille (in place of basil), roast salmon, and roast pork. It's also an interesting pairing with strawberries for gelato or sorbet.
posted by scody at 11:35 AM on October 10, 2010

Oh, and I put it in sauteed mushrooms as well. mmmmmmmmmmmmmm
posted by scody at 11:36 AM on October 10, 2010

Best answer: My absolute favourite dish in the world is tárkonyos csirkeleves, which means "tarragon chicken soup" and I've never, not once, been able to resist it when I've seen it on a menu. I don't have a recipe for it, though you can surely find one online. But it's incredible and makes full use of tarragon as a primary ingredient, flavour-wise.
posted by Dee Xtrovert at 11:39 AM on October 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Tarragon is EFFING DIVINE as a primary ingredient in either a poultry brine or a poultry rub - if you mix it, chopped and to taste, with parsley, rosemary, salt, pepper and olive oil, then slather it on a bird before roasting, you shan't be disappointed.

It also plays very nicely with eggs. Mmmn, tarragon eggs.
posted by julthumbscrew at 11:53 AM on October 10, 2010 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Any baked meat. Any sauce that involves wine or wine reduction. Anyplace you might use Herbes de Provence. Soups.
posted by jeffamaphone at 11:57 AM on October 10, 2010

Best answer: With parsnips and carrots! Grated and gently sauteed together.
posted by aint broke at 12:09 PM on October 10, 2010

This sent me to the Wikipedia article on tarragon from which I discovered that in some of the countries of the former Soviet union there are tarragon-flavoured soft drinks. I love tarragon (especially in béarnaise sauce), but tarragon soft drink is just weird. Incidentally, it's one of the four fines herbes (tarragon, parsley, chives and chervil) so obscure, no.

However: tarragon chicken, for which there really will be a million recipes on the web, is a classic. As to tárkonyos csirkeleves, I found a good few hits for it, but most of them seemed to be in Hungarian. The only ones in English were restaurant menus, which didn't help much. Can anyone provide a recipe in English?
posted by Logophiliac at 12:09 PM on October 10, 2010

Best answer: Easy Butter Chicken is yummy. The recipe calls for Tarragon so it fulfills your request. But I have made it successfully a few times now with different herbs each time.
posted by purpletangerine at 12:13 PM on October 10, 2010

Best answer: In addition to the great ideas here already, I mix tarragon with mayonnaise and use it as the sauce for chicken baguettes.
posted by ellieBOA at 12:21 PM on October 10, 2010

Best answer: This is a fantastic recipe for roasted eggplants stuffed with tarragon lamb. I recommend one change, though, which is to drain the fat from the lamb quite well (the recipe says not to), as otherwise it may be a bit greasy.
posted by amelioration at 12:43 PM on October 10, 2010

Mmmn, tarragon eggs.

Mmmn, deviled eggs with minced tarragon in the filling, and tarragon garnish.
posted by hydrophonic at 12:49 PM on October 10, 2010

I love it in chicken salad. Chopped roasted chicken, minced onions, minced celery if you like crunch, and definitely some dried cherries or craisins to make it incredible. Add mayo to the moisture level you like, plus salt, pepper, and plenty of tarragon. Serve it on some delicious whole-grain bread as a sandwich, or stir in some cooked macaroni for a cold pasta salad.
posted by vytae at 1:11 PM on October 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

AMAZING on beets. Roasted.
posted by Cygnet at 1:20 PM on October 10, 2010

My chicken pot pies are always way better with a load of fresh tarragon in them.
posted by Kreiger at 1:48 PM on October 10, 2010

Best answer: Side tip: buy fresh tarragon and stick as mush as you can fit in a jar or bottle, then fill to the top with white wine vinegar and stick in the fridge. Not only is the vinegar delicious, but it preserves the tarragon beautifully. You can just pull out what you need and top the bottle up with vinegar as necessary. I have some I've kept for months like this in the fridge right now, still good.
posted by cali at 2:01 PM on October 10, 2010 [4 favorites]

I use it in chicken salad with yogurt (instead of mayo) and dried cranberries. Delicious.
posted by pemberkins at 2:20 PM on October 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

In the next twenty-four hours, I will translate a good-sounding tárkonyos csirkeleves recipe into English for everyone and post it here, just to give a head's up. Too busy right now!
posted by Dee Xtrovert at 2:33 PM on October 10, 2010 [5 favorites]

Don't forget to put it in your poultry stuffing, too... The stuffing tastes amazing, and the whole bird is suffused with that incredible smell.
posted by OneMonkeysUncle at 2:38 PM on October 10, 2010

Egg salad.
posted by wryly at 3:45 PM on October 10, 2010

Add it to tomato soup.
posted by thirteenkiller at 4:44 PM on October 10, 2010

tarragon does go rather well with eggs, so even something simple as an omelet is rather fantastic.
posted by lundman at 5:23 PM on October 10, 2010

I'm very fond of it in quiche.
posted by drlith at 6:56 PM on October 10, 2010

I love it in lentil soup.
posted by the_blizz at 7:47 PM on October 10, 2010

Best answer: Yup, Cygnet's got it. I make a white wine vinegar, mustard, tarragon salad dressing that goes on a beet salad made of either raw shredded or roasted and diced beets with toasted walnuts (or pecans) and sliced tart green apples. Delish. Might be from the New York Times?
posted by Polyhymnia at 8:37 PM on October 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

Add it to canned crab with a little mayo and mustard. That's a yummy crab salad sandwich.
posted by xammerboy at 2:19 PM on October 11, 2010