Tarragon is a multi-use delight

Most herbs defy easy description. Trying to discuss the flavor of thyme or oregano leads only to vague adjectives. Calling rosemary "woody" doesn't quite cut it.

But tarragon is easier. It has a sort of mild licorice flavor. It does not taste entirely like licorice; but it is certainly mildly reminiscent of it, with a delicate anise taste.

This is not to say that tarragon itself is mild. It is quite strong; a little goes a long way. But when that little bit is applied to the right dishes, the result can be divine.

Most frequently, it is used as a bright punctuation to chicken, both in its later form (chicken) and its earlier one (eggs). Snip a few tarragon leaves over scrambled eggs and you have instantly elevated your breakfast. Mix a bit into chicken salad or egg salad and you have turned lunch from ordinary to grand.

Tarragon is also used frequently to bring out the best in seafood. A little tarragon added to shrimp, olive oil, shallots, and garlic makes an outstanding topping for pasta. Most finfish, too, benefit by being lightly blessed with tarragon.

And what about the other white meat? Pork is paired less frequently with tarragon, but the herb is an excellent complement to it. And you can even find respectable recipes for tarragon sauces to be served with big-flavored beef, though you won't find them here. What you will find here are two recipes for chicken, one for pork, and one for salmon.

The recipes for chicken are not just among my favorite recipes for tarragon and not even just among my favorite recipes for chicken. They are among my favorite recipes, ever.

The first comes from the Trellis restaurant in Williamsburg, Virginia, which used to be great until the chef became famous and then the quality of the cooking dropped considerably (I haven't been there in years, so I don't know how it is now). While it was still great, they came up with a grilled chicken dish with Dijon mustard and tarragon.

Here is how easy it is: You take a chicken and coat it with a mixture of mustard, wine, and tarragon. You wait 24 hours. Then you grill it.

It is easily among the best grilled chicken you will ever have. It is certainly among the best grilled chicken I have ever had. And the genius of the recipe is that you don't even have to grill it. It makes a great baked chicken or sauteed chicken. Or you could do what I did and combine each of these methods. I put the chicken on a hot, cast-iron grill pan to get some of the flavor of a grill, flipped it over and then finished it off in the oven. It was outstanding.

The other favorite chicken-and-tarragon recipe comes from Turkey. What makes it so terrific is that the flavors all get trapped in bulgur, which adds a nutty taste of its own.

Also, there is a lot of butter. The butter helps. The butter also gets trapped in the bulgur. Yum. There, it also mixes with onions, tomatoes, green peppers and chicken stock.

The bulgur makes the dish stick-to-your-ribs filling, so I often make it in the winter. But it is so good you will want to make it year-round. Though the flavors are bold, they are light enough to make it a perfect meal for summer, too.

For a dish with fish, I went the salmon-with-mayonnaise route. A dollop of mayonnaise mixed with herbs is a delicious way to add elegance to poached salmon, and tarragon goes with mayonnaise the way peanut butter goes with jelly.

Then, I found an additional element online that, frankly, I would not have thought of. I did not poach the salmon in water, stock, or wine, or any combination of them. I poached it in beer.

As it turns out, salmon and beer go together like, well, tarragon and mayonnaise. And the creaminess of the tarragon mayo makes a perfect foil for the flavor of the beer.

The tarragon is also part of the sauce for the pork dish, Pork Chops With Mushroom-Tarragon Sauce. Mushrooms, tarragon, and wine make up one of those classic gravies that can be paired with any number of dishes.

In this case, we did it with pork chops. The mildness of the meaty chops really allowed the flavor of the tarragon to come through. And also the flavors of the mushrooms and wine.

Makes 4 servingsEndTextStartText

4 pork chops, 3/4-inch thick, 6 ounces each

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

2 teaspoons olive oil, divided

12 ounces sliced fresh mushrooms

1 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup white wine, see note

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup chicken broth

2 teaspoons minced fresh tarragon, see note

2 teaspoons butterEndTextStartText

1. Sprinkle pork chops with garlic salt and pepper. Spray a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray, heat over medium-high heat, and add 1 teaspoon oil. Sear the pork chops until brown on both sides. Remove pork and keep warm.

2. Add remaining 1 teaspoon oil, and saute mushrooms and onion until almost tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in wine. Bring to a boil, and cook until liquid is almost evaporated. Combine flour and broth until smooth in a small bowl. Stir into pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened.

3. Return pork chops to pan and add tarragon. Cover and cook 6 to 8 minutes, until done, 145 degrees for medium rare, 150 degrees for medium, or 160 degrees for well done. Stir in butter.

4. If cooked until medium rare, allow meat to rest 3 minutes before serving.

Note: If you prefer not to cook with wine, use chicken broth. If you do not have fresh tarragon, use 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon.

Per serving: 350 calories; 18 g fat; 7 g saturated fat; 90 mg cholesterol; 32 g protein; 11 g carbohydrate; 3 g sugar; 1 g fiber; 360 g sodium; 85 mg calcium.

EndText

Makes 4 servingsEndTextStartText

1/2 cup mayonnaise (low-fat is fine)

1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon

1 teaspoon minced chives

1 teaspoon chopped green onions

1 teaspoon minced parsley

12 ounces beer

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 medium onion, chopped

1 rib celery, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1 bay leaf

4 whole peppercorns

4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets, 1 inch thick EndTextStartText

1. Combine mayonnaise, tarragon, chives, green onions and parsley in a small bowl. Chill until ready to serve.

2. In a large skillet, combine beer, lemon juice, onion, celery, salt, bay leaf, and peppercorns. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer 10 minutes. Add salmon fillets. If the liquid does not cover the fish, add more beer or water to just cover. Lightly simmer 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

3. Serve fillets with a dollop of mayonnaise on each.

Per serving: 560 calories; 44 grams protein, 6 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram sugar, 36 grams fat, 130 milligrams cholesterol, 845 milligrams sodium, 1 gram dietary fiber. EndText