What could we say of (very probably) our favourite dish? I wonder why we chose it for our 100th post in Instagram… This cultural trademark of the Jura Mountains in the Franche-Comté always hits the spot. Rich and decadent, but also light and ethereal. Poulet à la crème (chicken with cream) is already an outstanding dish, but the nuttiness and unique earthy aromas of morels raises this recipe to a culinary altar when paired to the acidity and yeasty aromas of vin jaune.
We do not, however, recommend using vin jaune in any case. Its minute production and long ageing makes it a highly coveted wine. A much more approachable substitute is Sherry, particularly an amontillado. We have covered amontillado in detail in previous posts. Its biological and oxidative ageing yields very similar notes to vin jaune from Jura. The most noticeable difference is the lower acidity of Palomino Fino, which can be corrected by adding a high quality Sherry vinegar to the sauce. The large scale production of Sherry and its old-fashioned image for our current times have led to prices of £10 for quality amontillados, giving an extraordinary good value for money. In contrast, vins jaunes in 2021 start at approximately £30.
In this case, we propose two dishes based on the same ingredients (the second recipe can be found here). Whenever we approach a new recipe, we always try to follow the traditional versions first. In this first version, we roasted chicken legs in the oven and served with crêpes parmentiers. Originating close to Jura, in the Savoie region, these soft potato pancakes were created by Élisa Blanc, grandmother of the prominent chef Georges Blanc. For those who understand French, here is the video with Blanc preparing the crêpes himself.
Pseudo-Traditional version
Course: RecipesCuisine: French, ModernDifficulty: Easy2
servings20
minutes45
minutesIngredients
- Chicken
2 chicken legs
Olive oil
Salt
Black pepper
- Sauce
Chicken carcass and wings
250g Manzanilla Pasada or Amontillado
500g double cream
2 bay leaves
1 garlic clove
200g fresh morel mushrooms
4 sprigs of tarragon
3 sprigs of thyme
Olive oil
- Crêpes parmentiers
325g potatoes, peeled and cooked
45g pastry flour
2 eggs
2 egg whites
50ml double cream
Salt
Unsalted butter for frying
Directions
- Chicken
- Preheat the oven to 200C.
- Season the chicken legs with salt, pepper and drizzle olive oil.
- Set a frying pan over a high heat.
- When the pan is scalding hot, sear the chicken legs from both sides.
- Put the pan with the chicken in the oven. If your pan can’t be used in the oven, transfer the chicken into a baking tray.
- Stick a thermometer probe in the thickest part of the meat.
- Roast the chicken until the internal temperature reaches 80C and keep it constant for 20mins. Try to reduce the temperature of the oven by opening the door.
- Once the meat is done, keep it warm until ready to use.
- Sauce
- Clean the morels using a dry brush and cut off the edge of the stems.
- Set a large stock pot over a high heat and drizzle with some olive oil.
- Sear the chicken carcass and the wings until golden brown.
- Remove the meat from the pan and meanwhile you can snack on the wings if they are cooked.
- Add the morels to the pan and sear them until caramelised.
- Remove the mushrooms and reserve for later.
- Deglaze the pan using the sherry.
- Add the bay leaves, the tarragon and thyme sprigs and a lightly crushed garlic clove.
- Add the cream and bring to a simmer.
- Keep reducing the sauce until it thickens, about 10 to 15mins.
- Remove all the aromatics.
- Return the morels in the sauce and cook for another 2min.
- Crêpes parmentiers
- Mash the cooked potatoes in a large mixing bowl.
- Add flour, eggs and cream.
- Mix all the ingredients until homogenous consistency is obtained.
- Season with salt and set aside.
- Heat up a frying pan over a medium heat.
- Add a tbsp of butter and once is melted, add a spoonful of the potato mixture per pancake.
- Fry the pancakes 2-3mins on each side until golden brown spots appear.
- Dry the pancakes with a kitchen towel.
- Transfer the pancakes on a wire rack and keep in the oven preheated to 50C with a fan.
Notes
- Use a tea bag to put the aromatics in and keep them together. Use can also tie them using a cooking string. Or just simply pour the sauce through a sieve to obtain a clean emulsion.
- A truly traditional version would braise the chicken in the sauce for 45min instead of roasting it. Hence, the ‘pseudo-traditionality‘.