Ingredients
1 free-range chicken (4 lb)
8 oz small spring carrots
8 oz small onions (pickling size)
8 oz button mushrooms
1 i oz butter
1 long branch tarragon or
1 sprig each thyme, rosemary, parsley
1 bay leaf
1 salt, black pepper
1/4 pt white burgundy
2 large egg yolks
1/2 pt double cream
Directions
Serves 6
Wipe the chicken inside and out with a cloth wrung out in boiling
water. Cut into 10 serving pieces: 2 drumsticks, 2 thighs, 2 wings
and 2 breasts halved. Scrape the carrots and peel the onions. Wipe
the mushrooms with a damp cloth and trim the stalks. Melt the butter
in a heavy iron cocotte [heavy frying pan or Dutch oven. S.C.] over
low heat and when foaming add the pieces of chicken, the carrots and
onions, and the herbs tied together. Season with salt and pepper, add
the wine, cover and cook for 30 minutes, moving the ingredients
around occasionally to prevent colouring. When the carrots and onions
are tender remove them with a slotted spoon, cover and keep hot over
a pan of boiling water.
Slice the mushrooms finely, add to the pan, sprinkle with salt, cover
and simmer for a further 20 minutes. Beat the egg yolks into the
cream and set aside.
Remove the chicken from the pan to a heated serving dish, place the
vegetables around it in small groups, cover with foil and keep hot.
Using the back of a fork, work the meat residue from the bottom of
the pan into the cooking juices. Bring to boiling point, remove the
herbs, and draw the pan from the heat. Add a tablespoon of pan juices
to the cream, stir well and return this mixture to the pan, stirring
constantly until thick. Pour imme- diately over the chicken and serve
without delay.
The excellent sauce of this dish is best appreciated when accompanied
by plain noodles or boiled rice.
From "The French Farmhouse Kitchen", Eileen Reece, Exeter Books,
1984. ISBN 0-671-06542-4
Posted by Stephen Ceideberg
Servings: 6 servings
Poulet A La Montrachet (Chicken & Mushrooms Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Chicken; Dutch Oven; Mushroom; Poultry; Vegetable
The History of Recipes
It is quite feasible to follow the history of recipes way back into distant history, certainly as far into history as the early Egyptians, and possibly even further than that. Having said that, generally, these early recipes were just basic pictorial instructions for food preparation.
Fascinatingly, the oldest recipe discovered so far, according to experts is a series of tablets in the Sumerian language which describe the baking of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made those who drank it feel blissful and exhilarated. As our culinary historical trip moves to more modern times there are a couple of cookery books which were published in the 14th Century : a recipe book called `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary called `Curye on Inglish`. Perhaps surprisingly, these books are nothing to do with the indian food that is familiar to us all today, but instead descriptions of the types of meals on the tables of the rich and powerful of that time. Over the next few centuries, the powerful families of Europe competed to lay on the most extravagent meals, and because of this cooks and their collection of recipes became highly prized. Nevertheless, it wasn`t until the 1800s that haute cuisine and recipe collections reached a high level of popularity. Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally well-known Fannie Merritt Farmer in the USA, spent years to assembling, verifying, and recording recipes for their fellow cooks to enjoy. By the arrival of the twentieth century, cooking books were highly popular as a result of higher levels of literacy, people having more spare time and disposable income. |
We hope you enjoy this Poulet A La Montrachet (Chicken & Mushrooms recipe.
