Poulet à la Moutarde + Salade de Courgettes #EattheWorld

Here we are in August for another installment of our #EattheWorld project, being spearheaded by Evelyne of CulturEatz. Here's her challenge. This month, the country was selected base on who won the World Cup. I think we were all hoping for Croatia as that seemed to be a little more of a challenge. Alas, France prevailed.

In February we kicked off the project with Cuba; in March we celebrated St. Patrick's Day with a tabletop trip to Ireland! Thailand was our April destination. May had us headed to Kenya. In June, Evelyne asked us to create a dish from Sweden and July was New Zealand. Before I get to my French recipes - yes, I did two because I couldn't decide - take a look at the other offerings...

French #EattheWorld Recipes

Juli, Pandemonium Noshery: Choucroute
Camilla, Culinary Adventures with Camilla: Poulet à la Moutarde + Salade de Courgettes
Nicoletta and Loreto, Sugar Loves Spices: Classic French Profiteroles
Claudia, Honey from Rock: Bifteck Hache a la Lyonnaise
Margaret, Kitchen Frau: Axoa d’Espelette: a simple and tasty Basque stew
Wendy, A Day in the Life on the Farm: Charlotte de Chou et de Pommes de Terre
Amy, Amy's Cooking Adventures: Fougasse (Provençal Flat Bread)

Poulet à la Moutarde

This isn't a traditional recipe per se because every recipe I found would have rendered the skin not crispy. We love crispy chicken skin. So, I adapted my usual roasted chicken thigh recipe and added a creamy mustard sauce on the bottom.

Ingredients serves 4

Roasted Chicken

8 chicken thighs bone-in, skin-on
2 cloves garlic, peeled and pressed
1 t ground mustard
1 t ground turmeric
freshly ground salt
freshly ground pepper
olive oil

Mustard Sauce

4 T Dijon mustard
1 T whole grain mustard
2 T butter
5 T crème fraîche
1 C chicken stock
10 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1 small onion, peeled and sliced
1 small shallot, peeled and sliced
freshly ground salt, to taste
freshly ground pepper, to taste

Procedure

Roasted Chicken
Place chicken thighs in a lidded container where they can lay flat in a single layer. Add the remaining ingredients and rub the spices into the meat. Drizzle with oil oil and cover the container. Refrigerate overnight.

Remove chicken from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before you want to start cooking. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place chicken in a baking dish. Drizzle with more olive oil. Roast in the pre-heated oven for 40 minutes, or until chicken is browned and crisp and cooked through.

In the meantime, make the mustard sauce.

Mustard Sauce

Melt butter in a large, flat-bottom pan. Add the shallots and onions and cook until they begin to soften and turn translucent. Add in the thyme and bay leaf. Pour in the chicken stock and simmer until reduced by a third or so. Remove the herbs and whisk in the crème fraîche and mustards. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To Serve
Spoon the mustard sauce onto a serving platter or individual serving plates. Place chicken thighs on top of the sauce and sprinkle with salt and pepper, if needed. Serve hot.

Salade de Courgettes

Because of the glut of zucchini I have in my kitchen, I decided to try a simple French salad with zucchini. Yum.

Ingredients serves 4

2 to 3 large organic zucchini, thinly sliced (I used my mandolin slicer)
1 C whole milk plain yogurt (I liked Greek-style for the thickness, but you can use whatever you have)
1/4 C organic mint, thinly sliced
1 to 2 cloves garlic, peeled and pressed
freshly ground salt, to taste
freshly ground pepper, to taste

Procedure

Arrange sliced zucchini on a platter or individual serving plates. Sprinkle with fresh mint.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together yogurt and garlic. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Let everyone add a dollop of dressing to their own tastes. Bon Appétit!