Chicken with morels

1 Servings

Quantity Ingredient
1 Free range chicken; about 3 1/2 pounds
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons Unsalted butter
1½ cup Chardonnay or meursault
6 Cloves garlic; unpeeled
1 Bouquet garni; (with a few parsley stems, sprig of fresh thyme, sprig of fresh tarragon, and a scrap of bay leaf)
2 ounces Dried morels or 4 ounces trimmed fresh morels
⅔ cup Homemade chicken stock; up to 1
1 cup Heavy cream
Roux; recipe follows

Garnish:

Sprigs of fresh flat leaf parsley Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Season the cavity and breast of the chicken with salt and pepper. Smear the butter over the breast and legs. Put into a flameproof casserole with the wine, unpeeled garlic, and bouquet garni. Bring to a boil on top of the stove, then cover and transfer to the preheated oven to cook for 1¼ to 1 ½ hours, depending on the size of the chicken. If the morels are dried, cover with boiling chicken stock and let soak for 1 hour.

As soon as the chicken is cooked (the internal temperature should be at least 170 degrees), transfer to a carving dish and keep warm. Skim the fat from the pan juices with a metal spoon, and remove the garlic and bouquet garni. Add the cream, bring to a boil, and thicken by reduction, or better still, whisk in just a little roux. If the morels are fresh, wash them carefully to remove all traces of grit or soil. Melt a little butter in a hot pan, and toss the morels gently for 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the morels and their soaking liquid, if using dried ones, to the sauce. Simmer gently for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, carve the chicken and arrange on a serving dish. Taste the sauce and season in necessary. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and divide the morels equally among each helping. Garnish simply with a little flat leaf parsley and serve immediately.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Notes: Recipe courtesy of Darina Allen, "Ballymaloe Seasons" Recipe by: Cooking Live Show #CL9087 Posted to MC-Recipe Digest by "Angele and Jon Freeman" <jfreeman@...> on Apr 4, 1998

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