Chicken Dijon Recipe

In France you won't find a specific chicken Dijon recipe. You'll find lots of recipes from Dijon, which is a city in the east of France famous for it's mustard, and you'll certainly find recipes for chicken cooked with mustard, but I think the notion of a specific Chicken Dijon recipe grew up outside of France.

Dijon France

Dijon is a very old city and an interesting place to visit, with lots of historical sites, museums and great restaurants. It is located in the east of France in the Bourgogne region. Much of the mustard that it is so famous for is actually grown in other places and then processed in Dijon. But Dijon is much more than just a mustard.

Mostly just to the south of Dijon stretches one of France's most famous wine regions, Bourgogne, a narrow swath of land that produces an incredible array of wines from Chablis in the very north to Beaujolais at the southern end. Perhaps it is the proximity to so many fine and varied wines that makes Dijon a popular gastronomic destination and host of the Foire internationale et gastronomique every fall, an event that attracts several hundred thousand visitors.

Dijon is also a producer of crème de cassis, a delicious French liqueur made from black currants. This syrupy dark liqueur is mixed with white wine to make a kir and with champagne to make a kir royal, two sweet cocktails worth a try if you get a chance.

Dijon Mustard in French Cooking

In general French food is not highly spiced so you might be surprised to find that mustard is actually a frequent ingredient in French recipes. This is because the mustard mellows quickly upon cooking. The fumes that rise out of the mustard jar are quickly released when heated and you are left with just a pleasant taste. If you think you don't like mustard, you should try cooking with mustard just once - you may be pleasantly surprised.

So here's my version of a chicken Dijon recipe. I've added mushrooms, because that's what was beautiful at the store the day I made it, but they are not a required ingredient.

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• 6-8 pieces of skinned chicken (ok, you could use chicken breasts if you want)
• salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 5 large mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tablespoon dried Herbs de Provence
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 tablespoons prepared Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the butter and olive oil on medium heat in a heavy skilet and add the chicken, browning it on all sides (about 5 minutes).

Remove chicken from pan and add the mushrooms. Cook and stir occasionally for five minutes.

Put the chicken back in the pan, sprinkle with the herbs and pour the wine on top. Cover pan tightly and cook on low heat for 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked to your liking.

Remove the chicken to a serving plate. Into the sauce that remains in the pan, stir in the mustard and heavy cream. Warm on low heat for five minutes, then pour over chicken to serve.

Makes 6 servings.

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Try another recipe featuring Dijon mustard: Mustard Pork Chops

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