Chicken thighs in a mustard, tarragon and grape pan sauce

Ingredients

1. Heat the oven to 180°C fan/gas 6. Put a large stainless steel frying pan over a medium-high heat and wait a few minutes for it to heat up (see our guide to cooking with stainless steel). Season the chicken with salt then, when the pan is hot, add a dash of oil, swirl it and put the thighs in, skin-side down. Cook until the skin is very crisp and golden; don’t be tempted to move the thighs before this happens, but if some parts are taking longer to brown than others you can press down on the thighs with a spatula.
2. Once the skin is crisp, the thighs should easily release from the pan; lift them out onto a baking dish (skin-side up), then finish cooking them in the oven for 10-15 minutes (depending on the size of the thighs).
3. Put the pan (without cleaning it) over a medium heat with the butter, shallot and garlic, then gently cook for 3-5 minutes until softened but not coloured. Deglaze the pan: add the white wine, then immediately start scraping up the stuck-on brown bits with a wooden spoon.
4. Let the wine simmer and reduce by half (about 3 minutes), then add the mustard and stock and reduce by half again (about 5 minutes). Add the cream and reduce by half again, or until you’re happy with the consistency of the sauce. Add the halved grapes to warm through, taste and season with salt, then stir in the chopped tarragon. Nestle the cooked chicken thighs back into the sauce, then serve.