Experiments with food and different cuisine has become part of my life and being a food blogger I simply can’t resist myself from messing around in my kitchen. Recently I just noticed I’ve tried my hands on various cuisines like African, American, Chinese, Italian, Korean, Malaysian, Mexican, Taiwanese, Thai, Turkishincluding Mughlaiand Indianbut one of the most well-known cuisines is missing from the list. Can you spot it out? Yes, it’s Frenchcuisine.
Actually it’s not like I forgot to try this classy cuisine but the fact is I avoided it intentionally. I couldn’t throw out those ridiculous myths about French cuisine from my mind. But after I received a copy of recipes of the legendary Julia child I had to set my mind to give it a try. And now I have to admit I’ve become a fan of it; I made a promise to Bhatty also to try more of it.
If you ask anyone about their opinion on French cuisine, you will definitely listen to these words; ‘it’s expensive, it’s too cheesy, extremely unhealthy choice, it’s very bland/not flavorful’. But many of them din’t care to understand the fact that every cuisine had their portions under these tags; so French is not an exception but it’s not all about it. Similar to rest of the cuisines it also has healthy, flavorful dishes within a reasonable price.
Today I’m sharing a recipe from the cookbook of the legend of French cuisine, Julia Child. It’s Fricassee De Roulet a L’Aancienne or Old Fashioned Chicken Fricassee. Fricassee is a very traditional French method of cooking meat which includes cutting the meat, sautéing and braising in traditional rich white sauce. I tried to follow ‘to the T’ but few items are there which I had to change a bit due to personal taste and availability.
Here is the classic recipe of Julia Child’s Fricassee De Roulet a L’Aancienne or Old Fashioned Chicken Fricassee.
Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Resting Time: 0 mins
Total Time: 40 mins
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients:
Mushroom: 150g, thinly sliced
Onion: 1, finely chopped
Carrot: 1, finely chopped
Celery Stalk: 1, finely chopped
Butter: 2 tbsp + 1 tbsp
Flour: 2 tbsp
Bay leaf: 1-2
Tarragon leaves: 2 tbsp (I replaced this with 2 whole Star Anise I couldn’t find tarragon)
Parsley spring: 1, small
Thyme spring: 1, small
Chicken broth: 2 cup
White wine: 1 cup
For the Marinade:
Chicken: 500g (I used two drumsticks & two breasts)
Lemon juice: 1 tbsp
Salt: ½ tsp
White pepper powder: ¼ tsp
For the Liaison / Sauce thickener:
Heavy cream: ¼ cup
Egg yolk: 1
Lemon juice: 1 tsp
Salt: ½ tsp
White pepper powder: ¼ tsp
For garnishing:
Butter: 1 tbsp
Fresh flat parsley: handful
Lemon slice
Equipment:
Large heavy bottomed nonstick pan
Mixing bowls
Whisk
Wooden ladle
Preparation:
Wash and clean the chicken pieces. Pat them dry with kitchen towel. Make sure there is no water at all. Mix all the ingredients under ‘For the Marinade’. Rub the seasoning well on both sides of the chicken and leave it for 10 mins. Place the heavy bottomed pan on medium flame and melt 2 tbsp of butter in it. When foam appears, add chicken pieces carefully in the pan and arrange them in a single layer with the skin side down. Fry for 10-12 mins or until chicken is browned turning the chicken pieces once only (not blackened). Remove & arrange the browned chicken into another clean dish/bowl. (See Tips)
Reduce the flame and scrap off the browned strains (if any). Put the pan on medium flame and add mirepoix (onion, carrot & celery) into the pan. Sauté with a wooden spoon for 1-2 mins; add butter if necessary. Cover and cook for 4-5 mins or until tender. Mirepoix shouldn’t get brown color. (See Tips)
Add mushroom and sauté until mushroom releases liquid. By the time mushroom will turn glossy &.dark in color. It will take approximately 4-5 mins maximum. (See Tips)
Shift the flour directly on the pan and stir continuously until flour is absorbed completely. There should be no strains of flour visible in vegetables. It will take approximately 1 min. (See Tips)
Pour the wine into the pan and bring it to boil. When bubbles come vigorously liquid will start thickening. Pour the chicken broth and stir continuously.
Arrange the chicken in a single layer on vegetables. Make sure to keep the skin side up. Tie bay leaf, parsley spring, thyme spring, add to the pan along with the star anise (if using any) and bring it to boil. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 15-20 mins or until chicken is almost done. Remove the chicken and transfer to a clean plate, discard the herbs. Simmer the liquid if you prefer less liquid.
Now it’s time to make the sauce or liaison. Liaison is used to thicken the gravy. Whisk the egg yolk with a manual whisk until smooth. (See Tips)
Pour cream into it and whisk constantly to blend well. (See Tips)
Now the crucial moment for the dish. Pour ½ cup of the cooking liquid into the liaison 1 tbsp at a time and continue whisking constantly. Pour the mixture into the pan slowly and stir continuously. (See Tips)
Return the chicken into the pot and simmer for 1-2 mins. Add tarragon (if using any), lemon juice, salt, white pepper powder and remaining 1 tbsp of butter. Stir gently and switch off the flame.
Transfer to the serving bowls; topped with 1-2 tsp parsley and 1 tbsp butter. Serve hot with steaming hot rice and lemon slices. The best company would be a glass of chilled white wine.
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| Reference: http://caloriecount.about.com/ |
This Fricassee De Roulet a L’Aancienne or Old Fashioned Chicken Fricasseecan be stored upto two days in any air tight glass container. But it tastes best when served fresh. To get the best taste, reheat just before serving; add 1 tbsp butter on the top and serve immediately.
Tips:
1. While pan-frying the chicken if your chicken have water in it the taste of lime will fade away.
If butter turns brown while frying, lower the heat. Don’t try to scrap off; it will ruin the entire dish.
If butter turns brown while frying, lower the heat. Don’t try to scrap off; it will ruin the entire dish.
Turn the chicken once only; otherwise chicken will be over cooked and blackened for sure.
If you have small pan, fry chicken in batches but don’t over crowd the pan.
2. Make sure to scrap off all browned traces before sauteing mirepoix; otherwise the entire dish will be ruined. If it is blackened, use another fresh pan.
3. Take care not to burn veggies.
4. Don’t burn the flour or overcook it. The flour shouldn’t get any color at all.
5. Whisk the egg yolk in a slow but steady method. Make sure to use egg at room temperature.
6. Better to pour with one hand and whisk with other while whisking cream and yolk together.
7. Make sure to pour 1 tbsp cooking liquid at a time into the liaison; otherwise liaison will curdle.
Enjoy a Delicious Classic!!!
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Mind blowing pictures! Looks so delicious and inviting! Better than the restaurant ones! What a lovely blog you have! Happy to follow you!
Tasty recipe for chicken
Great looking recipe but cut back on the number of photos that are repetitive. I count 7 here that all show the same thing. Great photos, recipe, and instructions otherwise. I look forward to making a take-off on this (as I live in rural Haiti and can't find all these ingredients. We have a black mushroom that completely disintegrates when cooking, but it tastes incredible – and I don't like mushrooms. Looks superb. I'll make it as the recipe calls for when I get stateside.