Chicken Recipes

Chicken Breast with Mashed Potato & Dijon Mustard Sauce

By
Plated roast chicken breast with Dijon mustard sauce, creamy mashed potato and fresh herbs

This is a classic of French gastronomy, built on time-honoured flavour combinations. And I’m very much here for it. They’re classics for a reason, and long may they continue.

The chicken breast is roasted in brown butter, the mash rich with butter and dairy, and the mustard sauce thickened with cream. It’s a luxurious dish, but not heavy or overbearing. Dijon mustard and tarragon bring contrast and balance, lifting the richness and sharpening the palate. A proper dish for the ages. Enjoy it.

Serves: 2-3

Prep time: 25 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour

Ingredients

Chicken and Sauce

Mash

Method

Make the Sauce

  1. Set a heavy-bottomed pan over a medium heat and add a splash of oil along with the jointed chicken wings. Brown them on all sides, then add the shallots, garlic and thyme. Season with sea salt and a few twists of black pepper. Reduce the heat to low and cook gently for 10 minutes, stirring regularly, until the shallots and garlic are soft and beginning to brown.
  2. Add the dried ceps and cook for a further 5 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and let it simmer for a couple of minutes. Add the chicken stock, bring to the boil, then reduce to a steady simmer and cook until the liquid has reduced by half.
  3. Add the cream and tarragon stalks, then reduce again by half.
  4. Stir in the Dijon mustard and simmer gently for another 5 minutes.
  5. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve into a clean pan and reduce to a glossy, sauce-like consistency.
  6. Taste and adjust the seasoning. A splash of white wine vinegar or a squeeze of lemon may help balance the acidity.

Make the Mash

  1. Peel and chop the potatoes into even pieces. Place in a pan, cover with cold water and season well with sea salt. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a gentle boil and cook for 25–35 minutes, or until tender when pierced with a knife.
  2. Drain in a colander and leave to steam-dry for 10 minutes.
  3. Pass the potatoes through a ricer or sieve into a clean pan. Add the butter and half the cream. Set over a low heat and beat together with a wooden spoon, adding the remaining cream as needed until smooth and rich.
  4. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Cook the Chicken Breasts

  1. Season the chicken breasts all over with sea salt.
  2. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
  3. Heat a cast iron skillet or heavy frying pan over a medium heat and add a little oil.
  4. Once hot, lay the chicken breasts skin side down in the pan. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes until the skin is golden and crisp.
  5. Add the butter to the pan and begin basting the breasts. Flip them over so the skin is facing up and continue basting.
  6. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast for 4–6 minutes.
  7. Remove from the oven, baste once more, and leave to rest in the pan for a minute or two to finish cooking gently in the residual heat.
  8. Finish the sauce with the chopped tarragon and chives.
  9. To serve, carve the chicken breasts and plate on top of the mash. Spoon over the sauce liberally.

Order meat online

For 15 years, George worked in some of London’s most loved restaurants, including Padella and Primeur, and spent five years as Head Chef at the Garden Museum Café. He earned praise for his simple, thoughtful cooking, with dishes rooted in the classics and always respectful of the ingredients.

In 2021, George realised a long-held ambition with the release of his first cookbook, A Year in the Kitchen. It celebrates the annual cookery cycle, guiding readers through the British seasons, showcasing native produce and encouraging creativity year-round.

In 2022, George left London and returned to his native Yorkshire. His passion for seasonal cooking and respect for quality British ingredients have remained central to his work. Like his food, George is led by the seasons, open to new opportunities and always following his heart.

Instagram

  • We love it when a plan comes together! And this little project with @llewelynslondon provides a great example. It all started with a trip up to Swaledale HQ, to see the butchery and meet the team; bacon, black pudding and egg baps were laid on fo breakfast. Then it was off to see one of our network of farmers; Jim Mallender, over in Thornton in craven. Jim and his family showed us round and held a sort of farming Q&A. Then we cooked some cuts on a bbq and sampled the llewelyns take on a hotpot. Truly bringing farmers and chef together and a wonderful day for all involved. Off the back of the visit a special dinner an d a three course menu of dreams. It celebrates not just our produce and their cooking but also the 6 beautiful years that head chef michael (@skinnylittlefatman) has spent at the helm of this charming restaurant. We are extremely excited to eat and drink tonight to celebrate all those things.
  • There might not be a food that is more of this generation than fried chicken. It’s eminently Instagram-able (or TikTok-able depending on your age), malleable to various cuisines and extremely delicious. Plus, it has just the right amount of technique, if you know what I mean. The sort of thing that, if you’re not giving it the requisite thought and attention, can be a bit ropey. No danger of that here though… @Grylos has given it the Swaledale treatment, i.e. keeping it simple, making it delicious and showing off our incredible meat. So, with no more than a saffron aioli, some shredded iceberg and a few sliced pickles, this is the fried chicken burger of dreams! Oh, sorry, nearly forgot the crispy chicken skin – told you there was just the right amount of technique. There are few things that we would want to munch down for lunch more than one of these bad boys. Give ‘em a whirl!
  • Always good to welcome chefs to the butchery. Earlier this week the teams from @llewelynslondon came up to see us. We showed them around the cutting room, talked through how we work, then headed up the hill for a bit of cooking and conversation. For many chefs it is the first chance to see the whole journey. From the farms and fields where the animals are raised, through our ageing rooms, and finally into the kitchens that cook it. If you are a chef and fancy a visit this year, you would be very welcome. Send us a message and we will put the kettle on.
  • March sits between seasons. Winter has not quite loosened its grip, and there is still time, and need, for fortifying pleasures. A bowl of chicken broth is one of them. It begins with a proper chicken stock. Just bones and time in the pot, slowly giving up their flavour until the liquid runs clear and deeply savoury. If you watched our earlier film on how to break down a whole chicken, this is where the rest of it finds its purpose. From there the broth is built. Pearl barley for substance. Cavolo nero and turnips for the season. Simple things, allowed to do their work in good stock. Just before serving, a small splash of oloroso lifts the whole bowl.
  • British Pie Week, apparently. We do not usually pay much attention to themed food weeks. We prefer to make and sell things when they feel right. This year is different, thanks to our growing friendship with Yorkshire chef and pie obsessive Josh Whitehead, and his excellent pie project, Finer Pleasures. Josh started @finer_pleasures in 2023 to make pies the way they should be made. Proper fillings, local meat and traditional methods. So we thought we would join in. The pie is a classic. Chicken, ham, leek and mushroom. Brined chicken, smoked ham hock and a rich velouté finished with herbs, mustard and chestnut mushrooms or leeks. A proper pie. Available this week while they last.
  • On a recent trip down to London we spent time in some very good kitchens, talking to serious chefs, and the conversation kept returning to farming. Not trends or noise, but where the beef is truly coming from. We kept bringing up the work at the Harewood House estate. It is a project we intend to give real focus to this year, because what has been achieved there, and what continues to develop, deserves attention. On a recent visit we walked the fields with Ellen, spending time with the Highlands that many walkers know from the estate’s mires, quietly becoming unlikely stars of TikTok. Beautiful cattle, carefully and thoughtfully managed. They have been fully outwintered and fed only on pasture. Stock levels are low, grazing is controlled, and the result is clear in their condition. This beef is now heading into some of the most loved kitchens in the country and the response is and feedback is very good. A short film will follow, but for now it is worth recognising the work. We look forward to sharing more from Harewood in the months ahead.
  • It’s easy to become disconnected with the restaurants and kitchens where our meat ends up being prepped, cooked and served. Whilst Instagram can give us a certain understanding of how the food looks; we all know that there is no substitute for experiencing it first-hand. And that is what we had the pleasure of doing this week at the Canton Arms. One of London’s great pubs and one of our oldest, most significant customers. We have been suppling them with exceptional meat since nearly the very beginning of the Swaledale journey. Last night was a moment to celebrate that relationship in all its glory; our meat and their cooking and outstanding hospitality coming together for what was a grand evening. We ate, we drank, we chatted in a room that was alive. Long may dining rooms like this thrive and continue to provide people with a space to consume food, booze and hospitality in such a joyous way. It was a special night for us, and we hope for everyone who was there. Thanks to @chargieb , @cantontrish, @petea25 and the @cantonarms team for being total legends xx Ps sorry for not getting any decent pics of the food! Was having too much fun.
  • We have all seen the videos. A chicken arrives. Five neat strokes of a knife. It falls apart as if by magic. That comes from thirty years at the block. Most of us do not have that. So here is a slightly more Radio 4 approach. A calm, sensible way to take a good chicken and break it down at home. Nothing flashy. Just understanding the joints, working with the bone, and giving each part the respect it deserves. When you do that, you open up a week (almost) of meals. Breasts cooked one way. Legs another. A carcass that becomes stock rather than waste. More on that to follow. The only things you truly need are a great chicken and a proper knife. Ours is a beautiful honsuki knife kindly supplied by @kitchenprovisions and it does the job expertly. Sharp. Balanced. Delightful. Watch along as @grylos talks it through.
@swaledalebutchers
@swaledalebutchers
•
Follow
We love it when a plan comes together! And this little project with @llewelynslondon provides a great example. It all started with a trip up to Swaledale HQ, to see the butchery and meet the team; bacon, black pudding and egg baps were laid on fo breakfast. Then it was off to see one of our network of farmers; Jim Mallender, over in Thornton in craven. Jim and his family showed us round and held a sort of farming Q&A. Then we cooked some cuts on a bbq and sampled the llewelyns take on a hotpot. Truly bringing farmers and chef together and a wonderful day for all involved. Off the back of the visit a special dinner an d a three course menu of dreams. It celebrates not just our produce and their cooking but also the 6 beautiful years that head chef michael (@skinnylittlefatman) has spent at the helm of this charming restaurant. We are extremely excited to eat and drink tonight to celebrate all those things.
3 days ago
46
View on Instagram |
1/8
@swaledalebutchers
@swaledalebutchers
•
Follow
There might not be a food that is more of this generation than fried chicken. It’s eminently Instagram-able (or TikTok-able depending on your age), malleable to various cuisines and extremely delicious. Plus, it has just the right amount of technique, if you know what I mean. The sort of thing that, if you’re not giving it the requisite thought and attention, can be a bit ropey. No danger of that here though… @Grylos has given it the Swaledale treatment, i.e. keeping it simple, making it delicious and showing off our incredible meat. So, with no more than a saffron aioli, some shredded iceberg and a few sliced pickles, this is the fried chicken burger of dreams! Oh, sorry, nearly forgot the crispy chicken skin – told you there was just the right amount of technique. There are few things that we would want to munch down for lunch more than one of these bad boys. Give ‘em a whirl!
1 week ago
635
View on Instagram |
2/8
Always good to welcome chefs to the butchery. Earlier this week the teams from @llewelynslondon came up to see us. We showed them around the cutting room, talked through how we work, then headed up the hill for a bit of cooking and conversation. For many chefs it is the first chance to see the whole journey. From the farms and fields where the animals are raised, through our ageing rooms, and finally into the kitchens that cook it. If you are a chef and fancy a visit this year, you would be very welcome. Send us a message and we will put the kettle on.
Always good to welcome chefs to the butchery. Earlier this week the teams from @llewelynslondon came up to see us. We showed them around the cutting room, talked through how we work, then headed up the hill for a bit of cooking and conversation. For many chefs it is the first chance to see the whole journey. From the farms and fields where the animals are raised, through our ageing rooms, and finally into the kitchens that cook it. If you are a chef and fancy a visit this year, you would be very welcome. Send us a message and we will put the kettle on.
Always good to welcome chefs to the butchery. Earlier this week the teams from @llewelynslondon came up to see us. We showed them around the cutting room, talked through how we work, then headed up the hill for a bit of cooking and conversation. For many chefs it is the first chance to see the whole journey. From the farms and fields where the animals are raised, through our ageing rooms, and finally into the kitchens that cook it. If you are a chef and fancy a visit this year, you would be very welcome. Send us a message and we will put the kettle on.
@swaledalebutchers
@swaledalebutchers
•
Follow
Always good to welcome chefs to the butchery. Earlier this week the teams from @llewelynslondon came up to see us. We showed them around the cutting room, talked through how we work, then headed up the hill for a bit of cooking and conversation. For many chefs it is the first chance to see the whole journey. From the farms and fields where the animals are raised, through our ageing rooms, and finally into the kitchens that cook it. If you are a chef and fancy a visit this year, you would be very welcome. Send us a message and we will put the kettle on.
2 weeks ago
52
View on Instagram |
3/8
@swaledalebutchers
@swaledalebutchers
•
Follow
March sits between seasons. Winter has not quite loosened its grip, and there is still time, and need, for fortifying pleasures. A bowl of chicken broth is one of them. It begins with a proper chicken stock. Just bones and time in the pot, slowly giving up their flavour until the liquid runs clear and deeply savoury. If you watched our earlier film on how to break down a whole chicken, this is where the rest of it finds its purpose. From there the broth is built. Pearl barley for substance. Cavolo nero and turnips for the season. Simple things, allowed to do their work in good stock. Just before serving, a small splash of oloroso lifts the whole bowl.
3 weeks ago
952
View on Instagram |
4/8
British Pie Week, apparently. We do not usually pay much attention to themed food weeks. We prefer to make and sell things when they feel right. This year is different, thanks to our growing friendship with Yorkshire chef and pie obsessive Josh Whitehead, and his excellent pie project, Finer Pleasures. Josh started @finer_pleasures in 2023 to make pies the way they should be made. Proper fillings, local meat and traditional methods. So we thought we would join in. The pie is a classic. Chicken, ham, leek and mushroom. Brined chicken, smoked ham hock and a rich velouté finished with herbs, mustard and chestnut mushrooms or leeks. A proper pie. Available this week while they last.
British Pie Week, apparently. We do not usually pay much attention to themed food weeks. We prefer to make and sell things when they feel right. This year is different, thanks to our growing friendship with Yorkshire chef and pie obsessive Josh Whitehead, and his excellent pie project, Finer Pleasures. Josh started @finer_pleasures in 2023 to make pies the way they should be made. Proper fillings, local meat and traditional methods. So we thought we would join in. The pie is a classic. Chicken, ham, leek and mushroom. Brined chicken, smoked ham hock and a rich velouté finished with herbs, mustard and chestnut mushrooms or leeks. A proper pie. Available this week while they last.
British Pie Week, apparently. We do not usually pay much attention to themed food weeks. We prefer to make and sell things when they feel right. This year is different, thanks to our growing friendship with Yorkshire chef and pie obsessive Josh Whitehead, and his excellent pie project, Finer Pleasures. Josh started @finer_pleasures in 2023 to make pies the way they should be made. Proper fillings, local meat and traditional methods. So we thought we would join in. The pie is a classic. Chicken, ham, leek and mushroom. Brined chicken, smoked ham hock and a rich velouté finished with herbs, mustard and chestnut mushrooms or leeks. A proper pie. Available this week while they last.
@swaledalebutchers
@swaledalebutchers
•
Follow
British Pie Week, apparently. We do not usually pay much attention to themed food weeks. We prefer to make and sell things when they feel right. This year is different, thanks to our growing friendship with Yorkshire chef and pie obsessive Josh Whitehead, and his excellent pie project, Finer Pleasures. Josh started @finer_pleasures in 2023 to make pies the way they should be made. Proper fillings, local meat and traditional methods. So we thought we would join in. The pie is a classic. Chicken, ham, leek and mushroom. Brined chicken, smoked ham hock and a rich velouté finished with herbs, mustard and chestnut mushrooms or leeks. A proper pie. Available this week while they last.
3 weeks ago
601
View on Instagram |
5/8
On a recent trip down to London we spent time in some very good kitchens, talking to serious chefs, and the conversation kept returning to farming. Not trends or noise, but where the beef is truly coming from. We kept bringing up the work at the Harewood House estate. It is a project we intend to give real focus to this year, because what has been achieved there, and what continues to develop, deserves attention. On a recent visit we walked the fields with Ellen, spending time with the Highlands that many walkers know from the estate’s mires, quietly becoming unlikely stars of TikTok. Beautiful cattle, carefully and thoughtfully managed. They have been fully outwintered and fed only on pasture. Stock levels are low, grazing is controlled, and the result is clear in their condition. This beef is now heading into some of the most loved kitchens in the country and the response is and feedback is very good. A short film will follow, but for now it is worth recognising the work. We look forward to sharing more from Harewood in the months ahead.
On a recent trip down to London we spent time in some very good kitchens, talking to serious chefs, and the conversation kept returning to farming. Not trends or noise, but where the beef is truly coming from. We kept bringing up the work at the Harewood House estate. It is a project we intend to give real focus to this year, because what has been achieved there, and what continues to develop, deserves attention. On a recent visit we walked the fields with Ellen, spending time with the Highlands that many walkers know from the estate’s mires, quietly becoming unlikely stars of TikTok. Beautiful cattle, carefully and thoughtfully managed. They have been fully outwintered and fed only on pasture. Stock levels are low, grazing is controlled, and the result is clear in their condition. This beef is now heading into some of the most loved kitchens in the country and the response is and feedback is very good. A short film will follow, but for now it is worth recognising the work. We look forward to sharing more from Harewood in the months ahead.
@swaledalebutchers
@swaledalebutchers
•
Follow
On a recent trip down to London we spent time in some very good kitchens, talking to serious chefs, and the conversation kept returning to farming. Not trends or noise, but where the beef is truly coming from. We kept bringing up the work at the Harewood House estate. It is a project we intend to give real focus to this year, because what has been achieved there, and what continues to develop, deserves attention. On a recent visit we walked the fields with Ellen, spending time with the Highlands that many walkers know from the estate’s mires, quietly becoming unlikely stars of TikTok. Beautiful cattle, carefully and thoughtfully managed. They have been fully outwintered and fed only on pasture. Stock levels are low, grazing is controlled, and the result is clear in their condition. This beef is now heading into some of the most loved kitchens in the country and the response is and feedback is very good. A short film will follow, but for now it is worth recognising the work. We look forward to sharing more from Harewood in the months ahead.
4 weeks ago
58
View on Instagram |
6/8
It’s easy to become disconnected with the restaurants and kitchens where our meat ends up being prepped, cooked and served. Whilst Instagram can give us a certain understanding of how the food looks; we all know that there is no substitute for experiencing it first-hand. And that is what we had the pleasure of doing this week at the Canton Arms. One of London’s great pubs and one of our oldest, most significant customers. We have been suppling them with exceptional meat since nearly the very beginning of the Swaledale journey. Last night was a moment to celebrate that relationship in all its glory; our meat and their cooking and outstanding hospitality coming together for what was a grand evening. We ate, we drank, we chatted in a room that was alive. Long may dining rooms like this thrive and continue to provide people with a space to consume food, booze and hospitality in such a joyous way. It was a special night for us, and we hope for everyone who was there. Thanks to @chargieb , @cantontrish, @petea25 and the @cantonarms team for being total legends xx Ps sorry for not getting any decent pics of the food! Was having too much fun.
@swaledalebutchers
@swaledalebutchers
•
Follow
It’s easy to become disconnected with the restaurants and kitchens where our meat ends up being prepped, cooked and served. Whilst Instagram can give us a certain understanding of how the food looks; we all know that there is no substitute for experiencing it first-hand. And that is what we had the pleasure of doing this week at the Canton Arms. One of London’s great pubs and one of our oldest, most significant customers. We have been suppling them with exceptional meat since nearly the very beginning of the Swaledale journey. Last night was a moment to celebrate that relationship in all its glory; our meat and their cooking and outstanding hospitality coming together for what was a grand evening. We ate, we drank, we chatted in a room that was alive. Long may dining rooms like this thrive and continue to provide people with a space to consume food, booze and hospitality in such a joyous way. It was a special night for us, and we hope for everyone who was there. Thanks to @chargieb , @cantontrish, @petea25 and the @cantonarms team for being total legends xx Ps sorry for not getting any decent pics of the food! Was having too much fun.
4 weeks ago
1514
View on Instagram |
7/8
@swaledalebutchers
@swaledalebutchers
•
Follow
We have all seen the videos. A chicken arrives. Five neat strokes of a knife. It falls apart as if by magic. That comes from thirty years at the block. Most of us do not have that. So here is a slightly more Radio 4 approach. A calm, sensible way to take a good chicken and break it down at home. Nothing flashy. Just understanding the joints, working with the bone, and giving each part the respect it deserves. When you do that, you open up a week (almost) of meals. Breasts cooked one way. Legs another. A carcass that becomes stock rather than waste. More on that to follow. The only things you truly need are a great chicken and a proper knife. Ours is a beautiful honsuki knife kindly supplied by @kitchenprovisions and it does the job expertly. Sharp. Balanced. Delightful. Watch along as @grylos talks it through.
1 month ago
662
View on Instagram |
8/8