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You are here: Home / Recipes / 5:2 Diet Recipes / The 5:2 Diet Tarragon Chicken in a Creamy Sauce and Wine.

The 5:2 Diet Tarragon Chicken in a Creamy Sauce and Wine.

November 29, 2018 by Fiona Maclean 38 Comments

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Last Updated on January 13, 2019

Low-Calorie Tarragon Chicken for the 5:2 Diet and Pinot Gris:

Today I got a craving for Tarragon Chicken.  One of the challenges with any diet, including the 5:2 diet, is that weird psychology that kicks in and makes you really want what you shouldn’t be eating.  I cared for my diabetic mother for some time and I know that she had a constant yearning for chocolate – which she excused by telling me that she was really just trying to emulate Judi Dench in Chocolat.  And, I do understand, albeit in a lesser way, on a 5:2 diet fast day while I don’t crave chocolate, I do really want something rich and creamy…and if possible a glass of wine too.

Tarragon chicken Diet Recipe

Now, I avoid the wine.  It’s not the calories in wine, it’s the fact that any alcohol has a tendency to slow your metabolic rate.  And, for me having two days a week when I avoid drinking alcohol is no bad thing.  But…rich-tasting creamy sauces?  Well, if I can get away with it…why not.  I love tarragon too, and my plants did very well this summer, so I had plenty of tarragon in the freezer.  So, why not try re-inventing tarragon chicken.  Traditionally I would have made this dish with a lot of butter and double cream.  By cutting out most of the oil and fat, it’s perfectly possible to make a low-calorie version that comes in under 300 calories.

5 from 3 votes
Tarragon chicken Diet Recipe
Print
Low Calorie Tarragon Chicken in a Creamy Sauce for the 5:2 Diet
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
25 mins
Total Time
30 mins
 

A delicious, creamy low-calorie tarragon chicken recipe

Course: Lunch, Main, Main Dish
Cuisine: British
Keyword: 5:2 diet, chicken, low-calorie, tarragon chicken
Servings: 2
Calories: 280 kcal
Author: Fiona Maclean
Ingredients
  • 200 g Raw skinless chicken Cut into 2cm cubes. Breast is lowest in calories, but can be dry treated this way. I've used thigh meat here
  • 100 ml Bouillon or chicken stock
  • 100 ml Dry white wine Extra bouillon or stock can replace the wine
  • 1 Medium Onion Peeled and finely chopped
  • 2 cloves Garlic Peeled and finely chopped
  • 30 ml Low-fat creme fraiche
  • 3-4 Sprigs fresh tarragon Or dried or frozen if fresh is not available
  • 6 Small New potatoes scrubbed and halved
  • 2 Bay leaves
  • 2-3 shots 1-cal oil Or use a little butter or olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon Cornflour
  • 50 g Peas
Instructions
  1. Spray a heavy based pan with 1cal and gently soften the onion for 5-8 minutes. Add the garlic for the last 2 minutes then remove and set to one side
  2. Brown the chicken pieces in the same pan till the edges just start to caramelise
  3. Return the onion and garlic mix to the pan and top up with the stock and wine. Add in most of the tarragon and the bay leaves, reserving one sprig of tarragon for garnish and add in the new potatoes
  4. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer and cook on the hob for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are soft
    Tarragon Chicken Recipe
  5. Remove the meat and potatoes from the pan and set to one side, keeping warm. Reduce the liquid down by a third
  6. Stir through the creme fraiche and add in the cornflour mixed with a little cold water. Stir until the mixture thickens slightly
  7. Return the meat and potatoes to the pan and heat through gently.  Cook the peas for 2-3 minutes in boiling water, then add to the pan.

  8. Serve garnished with the remaining tarragon sprigs if available

In fact, I made enough of this 5:2 diet Tarragon Chicken to freeze one serving for later.  It freezes quite well (although like all dishes with cream or creme fraiche, it is better to freeze the dish before you add the cream) and you can reheat it gently too.  So, I managed to enjoy one helping with wine.  I’d been given a bottle of Dopff & Irion Pinot Gris to review and I was looking for something that might work well as a pairing.   And, at least for me, it did work.  Pinot Gris is a grape which produced in Italy is known as Pinot Grigio and is considerably lighter.  The wine I was tasting from Alsace was really quite fruity, slightly sweet and at 13% not particularly light. Robust enough to stand up to the tarragon in my dish – and to cut through the creamy sauce.   But it still had lovely citrus and smokey notes.  I enjoyed my pairing with a light, fresh but creamy tarragon chicken, but I suspect it might work well with a seafood pasta dish or even with something like fish pie.

I’ve tasted a few wines from Dopff & Irin now, a vineyard in Alsace. You may well find them on Restaurant wine lists and they are well worth trying – rather more full-bodied than their German cousins and very easy to drink.

Pinot Gris - 5:2 diet

As a 5:2 Diet Recipe, this works rather well. at around 280 calories per serving.  If you are using frozen tarragon then it’s worth adding a green vegetable for a prettier plateful of food.  I ate this creamy tarragon chicken on my fast day with peas and a rocket salad and I’d recommend adding a strong flavoured green vegetable – spinach, broccoli or asparagus would all work very well.

Tarragon Chicken with Peas

I tend to only eat two meals on a fast day, so allowing myself 300 calories for my main meal is perfectly reasonable.  If your 5:2 diet regime involves three meals, try making this dish with chicken breast instead of chicken thigh and omitting the wine.  That way this dish will be around 225 calories per portion.

Low Calorie Tarragon Chicken

Filed Under: 5:2 Diet Recipes, Poultry Tagged With: 5-2 diet, 5-2 diet recipe, 5:2 diet, 5:2 diet recipe, tarragon chicken

About Fiona Maclean

London based freelance writer and marketing consultant. I edit London-Unattached.com and write for a number of other publications. With a music degree and a background in marketing across many sectors, my passions include all types of music, food, restaurants, wine and travel

Comments

  1. Alice Gilkes says

    November 21, 2019 at 8:13 pm

    Sounds very nice. I love everything chicken related.

    Reply
  2. Chris says

    September 19, 2013 at 8:42 pm

    I don’t want to think about dieting, but this recipe looks delicious anyway.

    Reply
  3. Jo Booth says

    August 3, 2013 at 8:02 am

    It sounds yummy, and you wouldn’t think it was a diet recipe ! I will have to try out this one, thank you 🙂

    Reply
  4. Claire Appleton says

    July 5, 2013 at 8:30 pm

    Looks Lovely! This recipe would work well cooked in a Swiss Diamond Saute Pan 🙂

    Reply
  5. Janet Dring says

    July 1, 2013 at 9:21 am

    This looks lovely

    Reply
  6. Gill Abrahams says

    June 30, 2013 at 11:20 pm

    This sounds great – and doesn’t seem at all as though I’dbe dieting when eating it! It would cook very well in the Swiss Diamond Saute Pan.

    Reply
  7. Honora Livesey says

    June 30, 2013 at 5:50 pm

    This sounds absolutely gorgeous – would be fab in the Swiss Diamond Saute Pan 🙂

    Reply
  8. colleen says

    June 26, 2013 at 12:54 am

    looks delicious!

    Reply
  9. ashleigh says

    June 24, 2013 at 1:19 pm

    this would be great in the Swiss Diamond Saute Pan

    Reply
  10. lyn burgess says

    June 22, 2013 at 11:13 am

    This sounds really tasty. Will add the ingredients to my shopping list so we can try it next week.

    Reply
  11. belinda porter says

    June 19, 2013 at 7:43 pm

    I love this and thank you for such clear instructions especially the freezer tip too this would be lovely cooked in the Swiss Diamond Saute Pan.

    Reply
  12. DANIELLE VEDMORE says

    June 19, 2013 at 4:51 pm

    Looks delicious – bet it would be great in the Swiss Diamond Saute Pan 🙂 xoxo

    Reply
  13. Dawn F says

    June 19, 2013 at 12:37 pm

    This recipe would work well in the Swiss Diamond Saute Pan, I think. 🙂

    Reply
  14. Annie Costa says

    June 19, 2013 at 8:15 am

    You could use a Swiss Diamond Saute Pan to cook this.

    Reply
  15. Natalie says

    June 18, 2013 at 9:02 pm

    This looks lovely

    Reply
  16. Nickie Chapman says

    June 18, 2013 at 7:56 pm

    I often rustle up a chicken and tarragon recipe like this – just through a bit of this, a bit of that – but always use cream. I’ll definitely give this a go and save the calories. Thanks!

    Reply
  17. Lisa Williams says

    June 18, 2013 at 2:07 pm

    amazing I am a huge tarragon fan 🙂 this would be great for the Swiss Diamond Saute Pan !

    Reply
  18. sue h says

    June 18, 2013 at 8:51 am

    this is an ideal recipe for the Swiss Diamond Saute Pan

    Reply
  19. sue h says

    June 18, 2013 at 8:00 am

    have never tried tarragon before but this recipe makes me want to try it! – looks delicious

    Reply
    • Fiona Maclean says

      January 15, 2019 at 7:21 am

      it has just a little taste of aniseed

      Reply
  20. Laura Harris says

    June 18, 2013 at 7:23 am

    Sounds divine!

    Reply
  21. olivia kirby says

    June 17, 2013 at 12:07 pm

    This looks great. I don’t like cream in savoury dishes so this is a lovely recipe for me.

    Reply
  22. Hussy London Housewife says

    June 13, 2013 at 3:35 pm

    Thank you for sharing a great and sensible recipe.
    Would work a treat with the Swiss Diamond Saute Pan.

    Reply
  23. Lindsey Clark says

    June 12, 2013 at 1:55 am

    I think this recipe would work well cooked in a Swiss Diamond Saute Pan.

    Reply
  24. Anna says

    June 11, 2013 at 9:57 pm

    Sounds great x yummy photos

    Reply
  25. Maya Russell says

    June 9, 2013 at 5:31 am

    I like this recipe and it would go well with white wine.

    Reply
  26. Heather Haigh says

    June 8, 2013 at 11:15 pm

    Sounds delicous and should work well in the Swiss Diamond Saute Pan.

    Reply
  27. Maya Russell says

    June 8, 2013 at 8:46 pm

    Tarragon and chicken has to be one of my favourite combinations. This would work well cooked in a Swiss Diamond Saute Pan.

    Reply
  28. Melanie Edjourian says

    June 8, 2013 at 5:16 pm

    this looks very yummy, you could also also make it in a Swiss Diamond Saute Pan

    Reply
  29. Paul Darlow says

    June 3, 2013 at 6:07 pm

    Sounds fabulous – must try it. When eating the potatoes can you taste between them having been cooked in the sauce compared with being cooked separately (e.g. boiled in water) and then added back at the end? Just thinking it might be easier to control the cooking of the potatoes if they’re boiled in water.

    Reply
    • Fiona Maclean says

      June 4, 2013 at 8:39 am

      it would be fine to do that. I like letting the potatoes cook in the sauce because they pick up some of the flavour.

      Reply
  30. Galina V says

    June 3, 2013 at 9:40 am

    Doesn’t it look lush? Who would have guessed it’s the low cal variety?

    Reply
  31. Stevie Wilson says

    June 2, 2013 at 11:25 pm

    love the recipe. the wine looks divine.. and I think I could do this one!

    Reply
  32. Pamela Morse says

    June 2, 2013 at 9:15 pm

    My food friends will like this one.

    Reply
  33. Camilla @FabFood4All says

    June 1, 2013 at 11:39 pm

    This recipe sounds ace and I love chicken and tarrogen, in fact I made a warm salad with them tonight!

    Reply
  34. Tracy Nixon says

    June 1, 2013 at 11:34 am

    Yummy! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  35. Jess @UsedYorkCity says

    May 30, 2013 at 11:43 am

    I had no idea it was possible to create such a decadent sauce for under 300 calories! Learn something new from you every time, Fiona!:-)

    Reply
    • Fiona Maclean says

      January 13, 2019 at 9:04 pm

      It really is a lovely recipe

      Reply

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