MUST EAT

If you think chicken is a big culinary deal then you definitely need to know about Bresse chicken. Google it and you will be amazed at the amount of information available on this quite famous breed that is reared in the Bresse region of Burgundy. (Ed: who would have known!)
These are quite exceptional free-range poultry. There are strict rules around rearing them that includes a minimum of 10 square metres of grassy land per bird; a minimum rearing period of 120 days and ensuring their feed is free of soya and GMOs, guaranteeing both the health of the birds and the consumer!
Preparing this poultry for the table is also a delicate art. It should be cooked on its own. Here’s a recommendation on the preparation and a recipe for a quite culinary feast:

• After salting it inside, place the bird on its thigh in a casserole dish; add salt and pepper and drizzle it with olive oil
• Halfway through cooking, turn it over onto the other leg
• Avoid pricking it and baste it with its juices every 1/4 hour
• Count 45 minutes per kg with the thermostat set at 200°C.

At the end of cooking, prick the inside of the leg; if the juice is pink, the cooking is not complete.
It is best to keep the roasted chicken under a sheet of aluminium foil for a quarter of an hour before carving and serving.

Now to spice things up a little, here’s a local recipe to whet your appetite:
Bresse chicken with cream and morels
Ingredients for 4 people

• 1 x Bresse chicken of about 1.8kg
• 100 g of butter
• 1 onion
• 400g of fresh morels or 200g of dried morels
• 2 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
• 1 bouquet garni (assorted herbs)
• 20cl of dry white wine
• 1x carton of fresh cream
• lemon juice
• salt & pepper

And here’s how to do it:
Preparation time = 30 mins - Cooking time: 45 minutes

• Cut the chicken into 8 pieces (legs, thighs, fillets, wings).
• Season these pieces with salt & pepper before frying them in butter. Brown them on the skin side
• Meanwhile, peel and cut the onion into 4 pieces and the garlic cloves into 2 pieces
• Prepare the morels and add them to the browning pieces of Bresse chicken.
• Do not forget to add the bouquet garni.
• Add salt & pepper to taste.
• Make sure that the pieces are lightly browned: to do this, allow about 6 minutes on each side.
• Next, deglaze the stock by adding the dry white wine and reduce over low heat.
• Finally, add the crème fraiche / cream
• Leave to simmer for 30 to 35 minutes.

Then remove the pieces. Remember to keep them warm, in a dish previously heated in the oven or microwave, and cover them with aluminium foil.

• Strain the sauce through a fine sieve to make it smooth and add a dash of lemon to it.
• Check and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

When done, arrange the chicken pieces in the serving dish and cover them with the sauce you have prepared.

Accompany the Bresse chicken with a timbale of rice pilaf or Vonnassian pancakes (a speciality of the Ain and Bresse areas of Burgundy).

And there you have it… a feast fit for a queen. Bon Appétit!