Recipe: Roasted Chicken With Tarragon Jus by French Chef Guillaume Brahimi

Over the last 20 years, French-born, Australia-based chef Guillaume Brahimi has become a household name for French bistro fare. His restaurants in Melbourne and Sydney (the latter now closed) showcase what he calls classic French dining: respect for produce and recipes without taking the experience too seriously.

His Sydney CBD bistro closed back in 2016. Now, he’s bringing back his classic dishes with a rare pop-up. Across 6–9 August, Brahimi is taking over the kitchen at Baker Bleu in Double Bay, where he’ll run an intimate bistro serving the next-level French dishes that made his name. The menu will include French onion soup, steak tartare, twice-baked soufflé, whole roast chickens, and cote de bœuf with bearnaise sauce. “[These] are my most highly requested bistro dishes, and are ones I love to cook,” Brahimi says.

If you can’t snag a booking (or just want a preview), Brahimi’s shared a recipe from the night – also in his latest cookbook, Plat du Tour.

This roast chicken features a whole Barossa Valley chicken, rubbed with oil, stuffed with thyme, bay leaf and garlic, and roasted until the skin crisps and the jus runs golden with a hit of tarragon. It’s served alongside Brahimi’s Paris mash – the same posh, butter-laden potato puree regulars will recognise from his restaurants, and which we’ve featured before.

The pop-up is limited, with just nine tables per service across seven sittings (seatings at 5.45pm and 8pm). If you want a seat at the table, secure your reservation by calling 0458 400 327.

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Roasted Barossa Valley chicken by Guillaume Brahimi

Serves 4
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 55 minutes

Ingredients

1.8kg Barossa chicken
1 bun thyme
1 head garlic, cut in half
1 stick bay leaf
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
160ml chicken jus
1 tbsp chopped tarragon

Paris mash

4 large desiree potatoes (approximately 600g in total)
Fine sea salt
200ml milk
200g cold unsalted butter, diced

Method

Preheat the oven to 220°C. Rub the oil over the chicken and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Fill the cavity with half of the thyme, garlic and three bay leaves, place the remaining herbs on the base of the roasting tray, and place the chicken on top. Turn the oven down to 200°C, place the chicken in the oven. Roast the chicken for 55 minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Bring chicken jus to the boil, add tarragon and sauce over the top.

Place the unpeeled potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Add a pinch of salt and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 25–30 minutes. (Test the potatoes by piercing them with a sharp knife. If they are ready, the blade will come out clean with no residue.) Drain well.

Peel the potatoes while they are still hot, using a tea towel to protect your hands. Pass the peeled potatoes through a mouli and then drum sieve and into a saucepan. Use a wooden spoon to stir the mash until all the moisture is removed (you want the potato to be dry to the touch).

Bring the milk to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Place the mash potato over low heat and add 50g of butter, stirring until combined. Add 50ml of milk and stir until combined. Repeat until all the butter and milk has been added and the mash is creamy and light.

Season with salt to taste.