Skip to main content

Poulet à la Normande #BakingBloggers


With Sue of A Palatable Pastime as our host, we're sharing our favorite French recipes! She wrote: "We're baking  foods from France this month, by popular demand. Sweet or savory, some portion of the  recipe should be baked." I can't wait to have some new French recipes. Here's the line-up...

Poulet à la Normande

This simple, classic braise from northern France brings together the fall flavors of sweet apples, yeasty beer, cream and chicken. The only trick is flambéing the brandy, which gives it a toasty flavor — it’s literally playing with fire, so if you’d prefer not to do that, you can stay safe and get very similar results by pouring the liquor in off-heat, and gently simmering it to evaporate the alcohol.

And, typically, it's made with hard cider and Calvados or apple brandy. I didn't have any of either, but I had some unfiltered honey wheat beer from a local brewery and Pisco, a Peruvian brandy. It was delicious.

Ingredients serves 4
  • 6 to 7 pieces bone-in, skin-on chicken (I used three thighs and four drumsticks)
  • freshly ground salt
  • freshly ground pepper
  • 3 Tablespoon olive oil, duck fat, or chicken fat 
  • ½ cup ground bacon or the more traditional cubed ventrèche (this is akin to a French pancetta, substitute Italian pancetta or bacon if you can't find ventrèche)
  • 1 organic onion, peeled and cubed, approximately 1 cup
  • 3 to 4 large apples, peeled, cored, and thickly sliced (I used Pink Pearl apples)
  • ½ cup Calvados (or other brandy)
  • 1 ¼ cup hard cider or beer (I used an unfiltered local honey beer)
  • 5 Tablespoons crème fraîche or buttermilk

Procedure

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.


Season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat the ground bacon in a large Dutch oven or deep skillet (I used my Le Creuset braiser) over medium heat until the fat is rendered and shimmering. Place the chicken, skin-side down, and cook until a deep golden, approximately 10 to 12 minutes. Flip and sear the other side until golden, approximately another 5 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan, leaving the rendered fat in the bottom.


Add in the onions and apples and stir to coat with the fat. Nestle the chicken thighs on top of the apples and onions.


Pour the brandy in a small saucepan and heat gently. When it begins to steam, use a stick lighter or long match to ignite it. While it's burning, pour the brandy over the chicken and let it burn out.


 It might take a minute or two before the alcohol burns off and the flames subside.


Pour the cider or beer over the dish and bring it to a boil. Cover and place in the oven. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.

If the sauce is thick enough for your liking, simply drizzle the chicken with the crème fraîche or buttermilk. If you prefer it thicker, place the heat on a burner over medium heat and let the sauce reduce.


 Serve the dish immediately. I offered blanched beans on the side.

Comments

  1. Those apples!!!! I have never heard of them but I'm going to be on the lookout. But no worries, I think this dish would be delicious with local apples too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. You always make such interesting dishes, and I bet this was amazing as well.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love the flame! Those apples are gorgeous.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This recipe makes me excited that fall is right around the corner! I can't wait until apple season arrives in full force!!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Something different and new to me. Looks like a perfect meal

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Quick Pickled Red Onions and Radishes

If you've been reading my blog for even a short amount of time, you probably know how much I love to pickle things. I was just telling a friend you can pickle - with vinegar - or you can ferment - with salt - for similar delicious effect. The latter has digestive benefits and I love to do that, but when I need that pop of sour flavor quickly, I whip up quick pickles that are ready in as little as a day or two. I've Pickled Blueberries , Pickled Asparagus , Pickled Cranberries , Pickled Pumpkin , and even Pickled Chard Stems ! This I did last night for an upcoming recipe challenge that requires I include radishes. Ummmm...of course I'm pickling them! Ingredients  makes 1 quart jar radishes, trimmed and sliced organic red onions, peeled and thinly sliced (I used a mandolin slicer) 3/4 C vinegar (I used white distilled vinegar) 3/4 C water 3 T organic granulated sugar 1 T salt (I used some grey sea salt) 6 to 8 grinds of black pepper Proce

Aloo Tiki {Pakistan}

To start off our Pakistani culinary adventure, I started us off with aloo tiki - potato cutlets. I'm always game for tasty street food. I found a couple of different recipes and incorporated those together for this version. Ingredients 6-8 small red potatoes, scrubbed 1 T cumin seeds 1 T fresh chopped parsley 1/2 t ground coriander 1 t minced garlic Procedure Boil the potatoes until they are tender. Drain and let cool. Mash the potatoes. Traditionally they are mashed without their skins. I left the skins on. In a small pan, toast the cumin seeds on high heat until the begin to give off an aroma and begin to darken. Remove from heat and transfer to a plate to keep them from cooking any more. Blend all of the spices into the mashed potatoes, then shape into small patties. If you wet your hands, the potato mixture won't stick to them. Heat a splash of oil in a large, flat-bottom pan. Dip each patty into beaten egg and carefully place in the oil. P

Hot Chocolate Agasajo-Style {Spice It Up!}

photo by D For my Spice It Up! kiddos this week, I was looking for an exotic drink to serve while we learned about saffron. I found a recipe from food historian Maricel Presilla that mimicked traditional Spanish hot chocolate from the 17th century where it was served at lavish receptions called agasajos . When I teach, I don't always get to shoot photos. Thankfully, D grabbed my camera and snapped a few. Ingredients serves 14-16 1 gallon organic whole milk 3 T dried rosebuds - or 2 t rosewater 2 t saffron threads, lightly crushed 3 T ground cinnamon 3 whole tepin chiles, crushed 2 vanilla beans, split lengthwise 1 C organic granulated sugar 1 lb. bittersweet chocolate Procedure In a large soup pot that can hold a gallon plus, combine milk, dried rosebuds (or rosewater, if you are using that), saffron threads, ground cinnamon, chiles, vanilla beans, and sugar and warm over medium heat till it steams. Whisk to dissolve sugar, then lower heat an