When I first watched Julie&Julia, I had the impression that the crazy desire I had to spend many nights awake cooking would eventually fade away. The thing is: the more I watched it, the more I felt like having a lot of money. Money enough to quit working and cook to perfection. Money enough to travel around the world and learn how to cook from the best chefs. Money enough to follow a long lost dream.. All that amount of money was definitely something I did not have, but luckily I had just enough to order Julia Child's amazing book and all I can say is WOW! It's a must have if you are a foodie like me. You will need some ahead planning and time to execute the very detailed (and full of tips) recipes, but the results are definitely worth the effort.
Invite some friends over, serve a chilled fairly full-bodied white Burgundy, Côtes du Rhône or Graves and prepare this dish that, with such fancy name, Fricassée de Poulet à L'Ancienne, will make you feel a bit more French - even if just for some hours..
For 4-6 people
Preliminary cooking in butter
1120 to 1320 grams of cut up frying chicken
1 thinly sliced onion, carrot and celery stalk
55 grams of butter
Adding the flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp white pepper
55 grams flour
710 ml boiling white chicken stock or chicken bouillon
290 ml of dry white wine or 140 ml of dry white vermouth
A small herb bouquet: (2 parsley sprigs, 1/3 bay leaf and 1/8 of thyme tied in a washed cheesecloth)
Onion and mushroom garniture
16-20 braised onions
220 grams of fresh mushrooms stewed in butter, lemon juice and water
The Sauce
2 egg yolks
140 ml of cream
Salt and white pepper
Drops of lemon juice
Pinch of nutmeg
Dry the ingredients throughly in a cloth. In a heavy casserole, cook the vegetables slowly in the butter for about 5 minutes or until they are almost tender, but not browned. Push them to one side. Raise the heat slightly and add the chicken. Turn it every minute for 3 or 4 minutes until the meat has stiffened slightly, without coloring more than a light gold yellow. Lower heat, cover and cook very slowly for 10 minutes, turning the chicken once. It should swell slightly, stiffen more, but not deepen in color.
Sprinkle salt, pepper and flour on all sides of the chicken, turning and rolling each piece to coat the flour with the cooking butter. Cover and continue cooking slowly for 4 minutes, turning it once.
Remove from heat and pour in the boiling liquid, shaking casserole to blend the liquid and the flour. Add the wine, the herb bouquet and more stock, so that the liquid just covers the chicken. Bring to simmering point. Taste for seasoning and add salt if necessary. Cover and maintain at a slow simmer for 25 to 30 minutes. While the chicken is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms. Add their cooking juices to the chicken cooking sauce in the next step. When done, remove the chicken to a side dish.
Oignons glacés à blanc (White-braised onions - Glazed onions)
18-24 peeled onions about 1 inch in diameter
140 ml white stock, chicken broth, dry white wine or water
30 grams butter
Salt and pepper to taste
A small herb bouquet: (2 parsley sprigs, 1/3 bay leaf and 1/8 of thyme tied in a washed cheesecloth)
Place the onions in the saucepan with the liquid, butter, seasoning and herb bouquet. Cover and simmer very slowly, rolling the onions in the saucepan from time to time, for 40 to 50 minutes. The onions should not color, but should perfectly tender and retain their shape. If all the liquid evaporates during the cooking, add more. Remove herb bouquet. (It may be cooked several hours in advance and reheated).
Champignons à blanc (Stewed mushrooms)
115 grams of fresh mushrooms
71 ml water
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tbs lemon juice (which helps keep mushrooms whie)
15 grams of butter
Trim and wash and cut the mushrooms. Bring the water, salt, lemon juice and butter to boil in the saucepan. Add the mushrooms and toss to cover them with the liquid. Cover and boil moderately fast, tossing frequently, for 5 minutes. Put aside until ready to use.
The sauce - Simmer the cooking liquid in the casserole for 2 to 3 minutes, skimming off fat. Then raise heat and boil rapidly, stirring frequently, until the sauce reduces and thickens enough to coat a spoon well. Correct seasoning. You should have 420 ml. Blend the egg yolks and cream in a mixing bowl with a wire whisk. Continue beating and add the hot sauce by small tablespoonfuls until about 280 ml has been added. Beat in the rest of the sauce in a thin stream. Pour the sauce back in the casserole, set over moderately high heat and, stirring constantly, reach all over the bottom and sides of the casserole, until the sauce comes to boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring. Correct seasoning, add drops of lemon juice to taste and, finally, a pinch of nutmeg. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve. Arrange the chicken, the onion and mushroom garniture in the casserole. Pour the sauce over it, remove from heat and just before serving, tilt casserole, add enrichment butter and baste the chicken with the sauce until the butter has absorbed into it. Serve with steamed rice or risotto, buttered peas or asparagus as a garnish and decorate with sprigs of fresh parsley. As Julia Child would graciously say: Bon appetit!
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| Served with risotto. |
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