Easy, last minute chicken, tarragon and mushroom pasta sauce

It’s one of those evenings when you arrive home from work, or training, or a cranky commute, to a hungry household: you’re delighted with yourself for remembering to buy milk, but kicking yourself for forgetting to check last Tuesday’s meatballs were still in the freezer. So you need to act fast, before the hordes intercept the milk and drain it all over the last of the cornflakes.

This dinner never fails, and the ingredients are easy to keep handy. The herb and garlic seasoning is a €3.99 Dunnes Stores Simply Better drum (the fairy dust of the title), and crème fraiche has a long life.

If you don’t have fresh tarragon, Flying Tiger sells big bags of amusingly named dried herbs. I sometimes use chicken portions straight from the freezer; cut them up carefully with a strong scissors and cook them slowly.

What you’ll need and how to cook it

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Serves 4

1 red onion, finely chopped

Handful mixed mushrooms, sliced

4 chicken fillets or thighs, skinless and boneless, cut into chunks

2 tsp herb and garlic seasoning (add more if you like)

3 twigs tarragon

2 tbsp crème fraiche

Fry the red onion with a splash of olive oil over a low heat for a few minutes. Add the mushrooms, seasoning, and a little water if it’s sticking. Then add the chicken and, when it’s sealed, pinch the leaves off the tarragon and throw them in too. Stir gently until the chicken is cooked through. When you’re almost ready to eat, add the crème fraiche, but don’t let it bubble. Add more if you like a runnier sauce.

Serve with rice, a ribbony pasta or, if you have time, some baby potatoes roasted with rosemary and coarse salt. Green beans are a good accompaniment.

If you have leftovers, this will keep in the fridge for a day or two and it’s delicious in a sandwich with peppery leaves. (And a glass of milk.)

– Joyce Hickey is an Irish Times journalist