With the canecule now a thing of memory, the days of endless sweltering heat are making way for more autumnal evenings. And even the picturesque commune of St Denis has days of dreary rain in what should be the summer months. When it unexpectedly feels like winter, there's only one thing to do - cook a hearty supper.
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 good farm chicken (but if you must, 4 chicken legs will do)
2 large onions, peeled and finely sliced
1 garlic clove (optional)
8 small carrots, topped and tailed only
9 fluid ounces/250ml white wine
12 sprigs of fresh French (not Russian) tarragon
3 tablespoons crème fraîche
salt and pepper to taste, (preferably sea salt)
1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. While doing this, if you want roast potatoes (see below) put them on to boil in slightly salted water.
2. Heat the oil and butter in a large heavy-bottomed frying pan and over a medium heat sauté the onions and carrots till soft and beginning to turn gold. Drain and transfer to a dish set aside. Then add the chicken, with a little more oil if need be, and fry until browned all over.
3. Put the onions, carrots and chicken in a lidded casserole or baking dish and cover.
4. Pour out the fat from the frying pan and add the wine, scraping up the brown goop from the bottom while bringing the liquid to the boil. Season to taste with salt and pepper then add it to the chicken with the tarragon sprigs.
5. Bake for 30 minutes.
6. Remove from the oven, stir in the crème fraîche, adjust the seasoning if necessary, and return to the oven for 5 minutes, making sure the dish doesn't come to the boil, then plate into a serving dish.
Serve with a green salad and boiled new potatoes or roasted potatoes.
For roasted potatoes:
Almost completely boil the peeled and quartered medium-sized potatoes, then drain them and roll them in a pan that has been heated with a layer of oil in the oven to coat them, and then put them in the oven for the 30 minutes that the chicken casserole is baking. They will roast in the oven till golden all over. If you can find duck fat, the key to Perigord cooking, then use it.
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 good farm chicken (but if you must, 4 chicken legs will do)
2 large onions, peeled and finely sliced
1 garlic clove (optional)
8 small carrots, topped and tailed only
9 fluid ounces/250ml white wine
12 sprigs of fresh French (not Russian) tarragon
3 tablespoons crème fraîche
salt and pepper to taste, (preferably sea salt)
1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. While doing this, if you want roast potatoes (see below) put them on to boil in slightly salted water.
2. Heat the oil and butter in a large heavy-bottomed frying pan and over a medium heat sauté the onions and carrots till soft and beginning to turn gold. Drain and transfer to a dish set aside. Then add the chicken, with a little more oil if need be, and fry until browned all over.
3. Put the onions, carrots and chicken in a lidded casserole or baking dish and cover.
4. Pour out the fat from the frying pan and add the wine, scraping up the brown goop from the bottom while bringing the liquid to the boil. Season to taste with salt and pepper then add it to the chicken with the tarragon sprigs.
5. Bake for 30 minutes.
6. Remove from the oven, stir in the crème fraîche, adjust the seasoning if necessary, and return to the oven for 5 minutes, making sure the dish doesn't come to the boil, then plate into a serving dish.
Serve with a green salad and boiled new potatoes or roasted potatoes.
For roasted potatoes:
Almost completely boil the peeled and quartered medium-sized potatoes, then drain them and roll them in a pan that has been heated with a layer of oil in the oven to coat them, and then put them in the oven for the 30 minutes that the chicken casserole is baking. They will roast in the oven till golden all over. If you can find duck fat, the key to Perigord cooking, then use it.
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