This is a Normandy recipe taken from the Reader?s Digest Cookery Year . Being from Normandy, apples feature strongly. It is a very rich sauce which, being cream based and thickened with egg yolk, demands caution to avoid curdling.
Planning
| serves: | 4 |
| preparation time: | 15 mins |
| cooking time: | 1¼ hrs |
Ingredients
- 1 chicken (3 – 4 lbs.)
- 1 mild onion, finely chopped
- 2 oz lean green bacon, diced
- 2½ oz butter
- 4 tbs calvados
- 1 tbs celery leaves, chopped
- 10 fl oz dry still cider
- 2 large egg yolks
- 5 fl oz double cream
- salt and pepper
Method
Clean the chicken and season it inside and out with salt and pepper. Reserve the giblets if there are any.
Melt the butter over moderate heat and cook the onion until soft and translucent. Add the bacon and cook for a further 2 – 3 minutes. Remove the onion and bacon from the pan and reserve it while you lightly brown the chicken all over in the same pan. Return the onion and bacon mixture to the chicken and flame it all with the calvados. Add the chicken neck, gizzard and heart to the pan. (Be careful to omit the liver.) Sprinkle in the celery leaves and add the cider. Bring the liquid to the boil and simmer for a few minutes.
Turn the chicken on its side, cover the pan closely and cook over a very low heat for 20 – 25 minutes. Now turn the chicken onto its other side and cook for a further 20 – 25 minutes still covered. Finally, turn the chicken onto its back and cook covered for another 10 minutes.
Transfer the chicken to a serving dish and keep warm while you make the sauce. Strain the cooking liquid and reduce it slightly. Remove the pan from the heat. Beat the egg yolks into the cream and mix in a few spoonfuls of the warm cooking liquid. Whisk the egg and cream mixture into the cooking liquid and return the pan to a low heat. Stirring constantly, cook the sauce until it has thickened. Be very careful not to let it approach boiling as it will curdle.
A garnish of fried apple rings, about ¼ inch thick goes well with this.
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