Tarragon Brings Unique Flavor

Tarragon Braves Winter Chill in the Garden

When winter wraps its chill arms around the garden many herbs continue to flourish. Among them one that is often overlooked, Tarragon. While it will go dormant for a while during the coldest months, mine doesn’t stop growing until early February.

Many describe this herb as having a liquorish flavor. I also taste a distinct lemon/astringent quality as well.

Tarragon isn’t the easiest herb to grow and it’s one of the few I keep in a pot. I also almost lost it this summer as the heat and lack of rain made watering pots essential — sometimes even twice a day. When I was away for a week, even though my neighbor was watering for me, I had a sad looking plant.

Although it’s often described as “difficult” I think this little trooper herb’s ability to bounce back from cold and drought should earn it respect.

Picking the Right Tarragon

If you want to give tarragon a try, be sure you get French tarragon. Russian tarragon is easier to grow in colder climates but it doesn’t taste as good as French tarragon. French tarragon can’t be grown from seed, only from cuttings or division of an established plant. It has a fairly shallow root system that can spread up to two feet wide so if you’re growing it in a pot, take that into consideration.

Growing Tips

Tarragon, like many herbs, doesn’t need a lot of fertilization. Yea! Less fuss! Once or twice during the growing season is fine. The soil where I live is very acidic. That’s great for blueberries and rhododendrons, but tarragon doesn’t like acidic soil. That’s probably why I failed when I tried to grow it in the ground.

In a pot, it doesn’t reach the size it might in the ground. I haven’t been able to get it to grow more than about a foot tall and as wide in a pot but under the right conditions it can reach almost three feet tall and two feet wide — a small shrub! It dies back in the winter but is a perennial herb and will come back in the spring unless your winters are below 10 degrees.

Tarragon in the Kitchen

Another area tarragon earns respect is in the kitchen. It’s a classic with eggs, chicken and potatoes and, in my humble opinion, is way under used. 😉 Since I rarely eat eggs and it’s been more than 20 years since I’ve had chicken, here is a vegan twist on a classic creamy chicken and tarragon recipe.

Creamy “chicken” with Tarragon

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup thinly sliced onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 10 oz. Vegan chicken
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 3/4 cup cashew half and half (see note below for directions)
• 1 Tbs. Lemon juice
• 1 Tbs. Chopped fresh tarragon plus more for garnish
• 1/2 tsp. Grated lemon zest

Directions

First, heat up a large sauté pan and add about a tablespoon of olive oil. Add in the sliced onion and a pinch of salt and sauté until the onion is translucent. That usually takes between five and ten minutes.

I grabbed some garlic that grew in the garden earlier this year and smashed it on the cutting board. Added it to the pan and sautéd until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Then add the second tablespoon of olive oil and the vegan chicken. I used Abbots.

Sauté until slightly browned.

Deglaze pan with 1/4 cup of white wine. (If you don’t have wine or don’t want to use alcohol, use water and 1/2 tsp. Lemon juice). Cook until wine has almost totally evaporated. Add in vegetable stock, bring to simmer and reduce slightly.

Lower heat to warm, add in cashew half and half and chopped tarragon. Heat until just warmed through. Make sure your pan isn’t too hot or the cashew liquid may clump up.

Finish up this creamy dish with a squeeze of lemon juice and top with a bit of chopped tarragon and a sprinkle of lemon zest for a pop of color and added taste.

This goes well served over rice, a pasta like linguine or even mashed potatoes. I served mine over linguini with roasted butternut squash with cranberries and maple syrup and steamed broccoli. The tarragon “chicken” is also good with small peas or fresh asparagus added to the sauce.

Cashew Half and Half

Cashew half and half is made just like Cashew Cream it just has a bit more water. Soak one cup of cashews for six hours or overnight in the refrigerator or soak for 10 minutes in water that has been heated to boiling. (Your consistency and flavor will be a bit better with a cold soak but sometimes we just need to speed things up!). Drain the cashews and add them to a high speed blender. Hit it with a pinch of salt, a half-tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and 2/3 to 3/4 of a cup of water, then blend until smooth. You now have cashew half and half. Store any unused portion in the refrigerator. It will thicken up a bit when stored but can easily be thinned out with a bit more water.

Notes from the Garden

I had planned to have this post up in early January and here it is early March. Time clearly got away from me! While temperatures are starting to warm up, it’s still pretty chilly and the only things going strong in the garden are my perennial herbs, rosemary and sage.

The broccoli I planted in late fall has been kept warm under plastic hoop tunnels during super cold days and is looking pretty good.

The Brussel sprouts look like wonderful cabbage plants and have the tiniest little Brussel sprouts lining the stems.

Arugula and kohlrabi have also made it through the winter protected by plastic. The arugula is a wonderful touch in winter salads with citrus or cranberry to complement its bitterness.

My experiment with trying to start a second crop of peas in the fall did not work out. We had several REALLY cold spells (at least for this part of the country) that did them in. Oh well, at least the frame is up to get them started for spring.

Early signs of spring in the neighborhood include pussy willows budding out and early daffodils blooming.

Spring peepers are being heard and the bluebirds are regaining their deep blue color. The bluebirds make me smile. There are so many bluebird houses in the neighborhood, including in my yard, but they keep trying to build their nests in people’s newspaper slots under their mailboxes. 😂

All of this means that spring is definitely on the way and none too soon for me!