Ditching the Plastic for the Pot
Cultivating a kitchen herb garden + Creamy Tarragon Turkey Cutlets + Affordable Splurge Chardonnay
I’m just back from a long family vacation where my laptop remained blissfully stowed away for the majority of the trip. Though ideas for posts have been percolating, I confess I spent more time contemplating a mind-bending variety pintxos (Basque bar snacks) perched on a stool in Northern Spain and exploring the impressive array of regional foods on offer at French rest stops, than I have been cooking. With so many new foods to taste, even as we filled the car with gas, a delicious meal was always at my fingertips.
Now that I am home, the kitchen beckons. I happily don my striped apron, refresh my dormant sourdough starter, sharpen the knives, and get to cooking.
In the summer garden, three weeks is a lifetime, for better and, occasionally, worse. Tomatoes are not looking as good this year, likely due to a prolonged marine layer hugging the coast and the scourge of powdery mildew that comes with it. Our one cucumber vine that was bravely climbing a trellis when we left, produced one, albeit tasty, fruit, before it wilted and yellowed in a weak death sigh.
The Centercut squash (like a zucchini but with a buttery flavor and firmer texture), only a three-foot toddler a month ago, has now shot out all directions down the side of the house. I am putting the overgrown squash to work, grated into muffins and julienned in pasta. The smaller tender ones I will score and grill this week, brushed at the end with a miso butter.
The other overall winners in the garden are the herbs. I get a smug satisfaction in the grocery store as I pass overpriced sprigs of rosemary in their sad plastic cases, knowing that with the wall of trailing rosemary we planted last year, I will never have to make that purchase again. This year, an experiment with a variety of non-flowering basil, Perpetuo, has me dusting off the mortar and pestle, getting ready for months of pesto.
The dream of the kitchen garden is to have herbs aplenty, at the ready not only for pesto, but to toss handfuls into pastas, to liven up salad greens, and add depth to marinades. The herb pots I’m tending with their thyme, mint, oregano and dill, speak to my desire to never again find myself at the market, looking at those sad plastic containers wondering if they have what I want in stock, or grimacing at the cost of a wilted, bundle of greens, browned at the edges.
If there is one herb I have struggled to cultivate, but dearly want to thrive, it’s tarragon. An important ingredient in French cooking, tarragon, along with parsley, chervil and chives, is one of the four fine herbs, delicate flavored leaves used to season eggs, fish and poultry. It is a key ingredient in Béarnaise sauce, the star of mayo-less French potato salad, and most importantly, the main flavoring of one of our family’s go-to weeknight dishes: creamy tarragon turkey cutlets.
Tarragon is also, unfortunately, one of those herbs that you can’t always count on being stocked at the market. So, I keep trying to make it work, buying a plant at the nursery, diligently watering and fertilizing. I’ll harvest two sprigs and make the turkey, take another sprig to add to an omelet or salad. It may never get big and bushy like the basil. I might harvest it down to its final sprig. Then I will go back to the nursery and get another plant, starting the cycle all over again.
I do wonder as I pickup a new plant for the third time, just why I keep trying with the tarragon. I supposed it is for the same reason Basque bars keep glass cases stocked with snacks or that you can buy a cassoulet kit at a French rest stop after using the bathroom and filling up the car: a delicious meal should always be at the ready.
Creamy Tarragon Turkey Cutlets
Serves 4
3 T. butter
1.75 lb. turkey breast tenders cut into ¾ inch (2 cm) thick cutlets*
Salt
Pepper
200 ml dry white wine
2 large tarragon sprigs, leaves removed, stems reserved (you should get about ¼ cup lightly packed leaves)
3 T. crème fraiche (can substitute sour cream or heavy cream if you cannot find crème fraiche)
½ T. salted green peppercorns (optional)**
Melt butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Season turkey cutlets with salt and pepper on both sides. Increase heat to medium and add cutlets in a single layer. Sear for 3 minutes until browned on one side. (If you cannot fit them all in a single layer, work in two batches, searing the first side, then removing to a platter while you sear the first side of the second batch. Add the first batch back to the pan as you flip them over to do the second side. At this point it is okay for some overlap.)
Flip cutlets to the second side. Add reserved tarragon stems plus wine. Bring to a simmer then reduce heat to medium. Cover the pan with a lid (if you don’t have a lid big enough for your pan, you can use a metal sheet pan to cover it). Simmer for 10 minutes checking occasionally to make sure the pan is not dry. If the liquid gets too reduced, add a few tablespoons of hot water and reduce heat.
When cutlets are cooked through, remove from pan to a warmed serving platter and cover with foil. Discard stems. You should have about ½ cup of reduced wine left at this point. If it is too little, add a few tablespoons of hot water to the pan and using a wooden spoon, get any browned bits stuck to the pan to come up and mix in with the sauce. Reduce heat to low. Add crème fraiche and tarragon. Stir until crème fraiche has melted in completely and is warmed through. Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt and pepper if needed.
Pour sauce over the cutlets and sprinkle with (optional) green peppercorns. Serve warm with rice, roasted potatoes or crusty bread. Green beans or a simply leafy green salad make a nice accompaniment.
*In Southern California, we can find turkey from Mary’s Chicken year-round at Sprouts Market. It will often come packaged as cutlets in the fresh meat section. If you can’t find that where you are, many markets will stock whole turkey breasts in the freezer section which you can defrost, debone (if necessary) and slice into cutlets. If you still can’t find that, chicken works just fine with this recipe too.
** https://kampotpepperusa.com/products/kampot-salted-whole-peppercorns-50g-tube
To Drink…
Creamy chicken and turkey always has me in mind of Chardonnay. A ripe, fresh white Burgundy from Mâcon would be nice here. On a recent trip to Sonoma, I was impressed with the 2022 Estate Chardonnay from family owned and operated Rochioli in the Russian River. At $64 a bottle direct from the winery it is not exactly a bargain, but for an affordable splurge, this is a good one to stock up.
Rochioli 2022 Estate Chardonnay, $64 direct or $69.99 from Total Wine
Domaine Talmard Macon Chardonnay 2022, $15.99 from Wine Connection in Del Mar, or $19 online through Wine Access