Grilled Tarragon Chicken Breasts With Green Grapes and Almonds

Ingredients

• 6 skinned and boned free-range chicken breasts
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons fresh tarragon, chopped
• finely grated zest and juice 1 lemon
• 1 cup green grape
• 1-2 small cos lettuce
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 2 tablespoons butter
• sea salt
• 1/2 cup verjuice
• 1/4 cup cream

Directions

1. 1

   Rinse chicken breasts and pat dry. Put oil in a shallow dish big enough to hold all the chicken breasts. Add half the tarragon, the lemon zest and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Add chicken breasts and turn them in the marinade so they are evenly coated. Cover and leave to marinate for 30 minutes (or refrigerate for up to 12 hours, but bring to room temperature before cooking).

2. 2

   Peel the grapes. This is fiddly but removes any tannic taste. Put grapes in a small bowl as they are peeled along with the lemon juice; the grapes can be peeled 1-2 hours before using (keep covered and refrigerated). Wash and dry cos lettuces, transfer leaves to a plastic bag and refrigerate until required.

3. 3

   Cook chicken over medium heat on an oiled barbecue hotplate or in a ridged grill pan over medium heat until a good golden brown (cook skin side down first), then turn them over and continue cooking until they are golden and just cooked through (they should be nice and juicy with just a blush of pink – remember that they continue to cook as they stand for a few minutes while you finish the sauce). Transfer the chicken breasts to a platter and sprinkle with salt.

4. 4

   While chicken breasts are cooking, brown the almonds (if cooking chicken on a barbecue, do the almonds ahead). Put almonds and butter in a medium frying pan over a gentle heat and fry until almonds are lightly golden; stir often and be careful to keep the heat under control or the butter will burn. Transfer almonds to a plate using a slotted spoon and sprinkle with sea salt. Add verjuice to pan and bubble up. Reduce verjuice by half, then add cream and remaining tarragon. Bubble up again. Season to taste with a few pinches of salt, then add grapes.

5. 5

   Arrange cos leaves on a serving platter, then put chicken breasts on top. Pour over any juices that have come out of the chicken, then spoon sauce over. Top with salted almonds. Serve immediately.