Chicken Savoyarde; a nest

This is another recipe that I have been making forever.

It uses one of our favorite spring vegetables: artichokes.

But…. I do this one the easy way. I use frozen artichoke bottoms.

There aren’t a lot of vegetables that I use frozen; peas and spinach are 2 others. Fresh artichokes are great to eat steamed as an appetizer but are a lot of fussy work if all you want is the bottom to use in another dish.

When we lived in the U.S. I bought canned artichoke bottoms – also good.

One change I recently made to this recipe was to put the rice in the baking dish rather than have it on the side.

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Chicken Savoyarde

Another retro chicken dish with artichoke bottoms and a white wine herb sauce. It finishes in the oven while you relax (or clean up the kitchen).

  • Author: Kate
  • Prep Time: 20
  • Cook Time: 35 minutes
  • Total Time: 55 minutes
  • Yield: 2 servings 1x
  • Category: Chicken

Ingredients

Scale
  • Rice:
  • 1/2 cup (3oz, 90gr) Basmati rice
  • 1 cup (8oz 240gr) chicken broth
  • Chicken:
  • 2 chicken breasts – boneless, skinless, cut in half
  • 1 medium onion, halved, then sliced thinly
  • 1 tsp dried tarragon
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 3/4 cup (6oz, 180ml) dry white wine
  • 1/2 cup (4oz, 120ml) chicken broth
  • 1/2 cup (4oz, 120gr) Greek or plain yogurt, or sour cream
  • 1 tbs Dijon-style mustard
  • 1/2 cup (2oz, 60gr) Parmesan cheese
  • 2 tbs cornstarch dissolved in 3 tbs chicken broth
  • 45 medium artichoke bottoms, about 3″ (7.5cm) across

Instructions

  • Cook rice in 1 cup broth, according to package instructions.
  • Cook artichoke bottoms if needed.
  • In nonstick skillet heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add onion and sauté until tender.
  • Add tarragon, thyme, chicken breasts and sauté until chicken starts to brown.
  • Add white wine, cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 10 minutes.
  • In a baking dish just large enough to hold everything spread the rice.
  • Arrange artichoke bottoms in a single layer on top.
  • Remove chicken breasts and arrange on artichokes.
  • Increase heat under skillet to medium-high, add the chicken broth and mustard to the wine.
  • When simmering hard stir in cornstarch mixture and cook until thickened.
  • Remove from heat; add yogurt and Parmesan.
  • Pour sauce over chicken and artichokes and bake in 400F (200C) for 15 minutes.
  • Remove and serve.

Notes

Canned artichoke bottoms are likely fully cooked, You can check by piercing with a knife – should go in easily.
The frozen ones I used need to be cooked in boiling water for 15 minutes. Check package for instructions.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1/2 recipe
  • Calories: 890
  • Sugar: 9.9 g
  • Sodium: 1607 mg
  • Fat: 22.5 g
  • Saturated Fat: 7.6 g
  • Trans Fat: 0 g
  • Carbohydrates: 91.6 g
  • Fiber: 22.1 g
  • Protein: 68 g
  • Cholesterol: 151.8 mg

Keywords: chicken, artichoke bottoms, rice, savoyarde

Chicken & Artichoke Savoyarde

We had a bit of wind last weekend.

It was enough at one point that we had to close the shutters on the doors going out to the pool. We were afraid they would blow open.

Okay…. I was worried and someone closed the shutters to make me feel better.

Guapa was worried, too.

Amazingly, we didn’t lose any trees or big branches.

But this big nest blew out of the top of one of our trees.

The whole nest, twig tip to twig tip, is almost 3 feet across.

The actual nest is about 10 inches (25cm).

I was amazed at how solidly built it is….. And how heavy. I didn’t weigh it but it was an effort to lift it.

I’m guessing it’s a magpie nest but I really have no idea. They are the biggest bird we see regularly.

The doves are also big but they nest in the wisteria.

Maybe I’ll plant geraniums in it…..

4 thoughts on “Chicken Savoyarde; a nest”

  1. That is so cool!!! Do you have any predatory birds around? Not owls, they wouldn’t nest like that. Eagles, osprey, hawks, falcons would be too small probably, even vultures would build a bigger nest like that. I would think magpies would be smaller than that size nest, but maybe in France, they’re different. They’re about the size of a raven, I thought. At least in the south. We don’t have magpies this far north. Any other big birds here would nest on the ground at water’s edge. We have eagles and osprey nesting on cell towers around me so the towers are good for something because they don’t offer a good signal!

    I’m going to make this recipe next week barring any unforeseen circumstances. I’ll report back 🙂

    • We have various raptors around but I’ve never seen any that close to the house. This is a tall tree and there are 2 more of these nests in it, very close to the top. Our magpies are big and they are the only ones
      I see in the area. Of course they could all be old nests, too. My bird expert is not longer with us so I have lost my resource…..
      Let me know how you like the chicken!

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