Cold-chicken salad with tarragon-cream dressing and pea shoots
A creamy tarragon dressing is the perfect accompaniment to this chicken and pea-shoot salad.


Cold-chicken salad with tarragon-cream dressing and pea shoots (serves 4 as a light luncheon dish served with warm new potatoes)
Ingredients
For the salad
- Cooked chicken breasts, thinly sliced
- Fresh pea shoots (I suggest 2 bags, available in Waitrose)
For the dressing
- 2 eggs
- 2tbspn caster sugar
- 4tbspn tarragon vinegar (or white-wine vinegar, but up the quantity of tarragon leaves a little)
- 200ml double cream
- A scant tablespoon of freshly chopped tarragon
- A touch of olive oil, lemon juice and seasoning to dress
Method Beat the eggs, caster sugar and vinegar together with a pinch of salt in the top of a double boiler (or in a stainless-steel or china bowl suspended over barely simmering water) until thick—the whisk should leave thick trails through the mixture (use an electric hand whisk for the speediest and best results).
Remove from the heat and continue beating until lukewarm, then leave until cold.
Loosely whip the cream and fold into the sauce, together with the chopped tarragon.
Either arrange the sliced breasts on one large and handsome dish or divide between four plates as individual servings. Either way, lavish the meat with the tarragon-cream dressing, dress the pea shoots and serve forthwith.
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.
If serving with new potatoes, present them separately in a bowl, turned through a modicum of best butter, to please all.
Strawberry, rhubarb and almond tart with rosemary ice cream
Strawberries and rhubarb make a delicious combination in this pretty tart.
-
What everyone is talking about this week: 'People who tended to be more obedient about lockdown are now its fiercest critics'
Week in, week out, Will Hosie rounds up the hottest topics on everyone's lips, in London and beyond.
-
From the archive: 'This retina-awakening advert for British Nylon Spinners Limited sums up the swinging 1960s perfectly'
Every Monday, Melanie Bryan, delves into the hidden depths of Country Life's extraordinary archive to bring you a long-forgotten story, photograph or advert.
-
Gill Meller's tomato, egg, bread and herb big-hearted summer salad
This summer salad is for people who enjoy proper seasonal produce.
-
Gill Meller's strawberry, lemon and elderflower meringue
Gill Meller's strawberry and elderflower meringue is basically summer on a plate.
-
Gill Meller's recipe for a herb-filled tart that makes the most of Spring produce
Make the most of the last few days of May and Spring's bumper crop of ingredients with this herby spring tart recipe.
-
Gill Meller's recipe for wild garlic pesto
The appearance of wild garlic is a sure sign that spring is on the way. Make the most of it with this quick and easy recipe for 'intense' pesto.
-
Asparagus and prawn pappardelle with chorizo that sings of Spring
This recipe comes with 'a flavour punch you don't want to miss'
-
Delicious herbs and ices: rosemary ice cream with chocolate brownie
This immensely popular and versatile herb is easily grown in the garden, and pairs with anything from ice cream to chicken.
-
How to make raspberry-and-pistachio choux Paris-Brest, perfect with a glass of rosé
Melanie Johnson makes the most of juicy British berries with these sweet recipes.
-
How to make elderflower cordial and wine
The English summer is thought to start when the elder blossoms and ends when the berries ripen. Country Life recommends some recipes for this versatile plant.