Henri Soules Poule Au Pot Food

HENRI SOULE'S POULE AU POT

Steps:

• Truss the chicken and place it in a kettle. It should fit in the pot snugly or else too much water must be added and the soup will be weak and watery. Cover with water, and add carrots, celery, turnips, leeks, fennel and zucchini. Bring to a boil, remove from heat and drain well.
• Return chicken to kettle; add chicken broth. Add all vegetables except zucchini. Simmer 20 minutes, uncovered. Add zucchini, simmer 5 minutes longer, skimming foam from top periodically.
• Add rice, salt and pepper. Cook until chicken is tender, about 10 minutes.
• Untruss chicken. Cut it into serving pieces, serve in four hot soup bowls with equal amounts of vegetables and rice in each bowl. Garnish with fresh chervil, serve.

POULE AU POT WITH GROS SEL SAUCE

Steps:

• To Finish:
• Prepare the stuffing: blend liver, sausage, ham, and foie gras in a bowl. Add shallot, parsley, eggs, Armagnac, garlic, salt, and pepper. Soak the bread in milk until softened, then remove and gently squeeze to remove excess milk. Add soaked bread to the meat mixture, and mix well. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
• Season inside of capon well with salt and pepper. Fill the cavity with stuffing and sew closed with butcher's twine, making sure twine is very tight. (Or, roll stuffing into a log in a double layer of cheesecloth and tie ends closed. Add to bouillon about 1/2 hour before bird is done cooking, and poach until firm.)
• Add turnips, onions, carrots, celery, and leeks to a large, deep pot. Place stuffed capon on vegetables, add bay leaves, thyme, and garlic. Add a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper and pour in the stock. It should completely cover bird and vegetables. Add a little water, if needed. Bring liquid to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer gently until meat is very tender and almost falling off the bone, at least 2 1/2 hours. Cook the cabbage in the bouillon for the last 30 minutes of cooking time. Reserve 1 cup of the bouillon for the Gros Sel Sauce.
• While the capon cooks, prepare the Gros Sel Sauce.
• Carefully remove capon and vegetables from the pot with a large, slotted spoon. Place on a platter and lightly tent with foil. Strain broth, return to pot, and bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Taste to adjust seasoning. Add pasta, and cook until tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. While pasta cooks, cut capon into serving portions. Remove the stuffing from the cavity and cut into slices (or unwrap and slice). Arrange vegetables around capon and cover with foil. Keep in a warm oven.
• Ladle the broth with vermicelli into bowls and serve. Don't forget to pass a bottle of red wine for the chabrot. Following the broth, serve the stuffing, vegetables, and capon, pouring some of the hot broth over them before serving. Garnish with capers, pickled onions, cornichons, and mustard. Serve with Gros Sel Sauce.
• Combine eggs, mustard, vinegar, and herbs in a bowl. Slowly stir in oil, then add the broth. Season, to taste, with sea salt.

POULE AU POT

Steps:

• Put the shank in a large saucepan, add the water and bring slowly to the boil, skimming off any scum. Add the onion, bouquet garni, some salt, the peppercorns and celery, and simmer uncovered for 2 hours, skimming as you go.
• Meanwhile, prepare the stuffing. Soak the bread crumbs in the milk to moisten, then squeeze dry. Mix them with the gammon, garlic and parsley. Chop the chicken liver and heart, and add to the mixture with the beaten egg. Season with pepper and nutmeg (you may not need salt, but taste to see). Beat very well until thoroughly mixed. Stuff the bird and truss it. Add the bird to the pot with the shank and continue to simmer uncovered for 1 hour. Add the carrots, leeks, and turnips. Taste for seasoning, then continue to simmer for another hour or until everything is tender. Be sure that there is always enough liquid to cover everything.
• If you are going to serve the broth as a first course, strain 2 1/2 pints of the liquid into a separate pan, boil to reduce by one-third, remove as much fat as possible and adjust the seasoning. Either simmer the noodles in it for 5 minutes or serve with the diagonally sliced French bread - toasted in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes. (Put the slices of bread in soup bowls and then pour the broth over them.)
• Transfer the beef and chicken to a board. Meanwhile, cut the shank into medium-thick slices and arrange on a large platter. Untruss and carve the chicken. Pile the stuffing on the platter and arrange the chicken on top. Put the vegetables in pretty array around the meat. Cover and keep hot while you serve the first course.
• Serve the meat platter as the main course - it may need some coarse salt to go with it.