Chicken in Truffle Cream Sauce
Credit: Christopher Baker
(Poulet aux Truffles à la Crème)
SERVES 6
While researching black truffles in Provence, food writer Peggy Knickerbocker was served this dish, prepared by private chef Henri Sanègre.
1 4–5-lb. chicken, cut into 8 pieces
4 white onions, peeled and quartered
2 bottles dry white wine
Salt
1 bouquet garni (4 sprigs parsley,
2 sprigs thyme, and 1 bay leaf,
tied with kitchen twine)
3 medium waxy potatoes, peeled and quartered
3 medium carrots, peeled, trimmed, and
halved lengthwise
3 medium leeks, white part only, washed,
trimmed, and halved lengthwise
12 pearl onions, peeled
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. flour
1⁄2 cup heavy cream
Leaves from a bunch parsley, finely chopped
1 medium fresh black truffle, cleaned
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
6 sprigs fresh rosemary
1. Put chicken, white onions, wine, and 2 large pinches salt into a large pot. Add enough cold water to cover, and bring to a boil over high heat, skimming any foam as it appears. Reduce heat to medium-low, add bouquet garni, and poach, partially covered, until chicken is cooked through, 40–50 minutes. Transfer chicken to a platter, cover with foil, and keep warm in oven set at lowest setting. Remove onions and bouquet garni from stock with a slotted spoon and discard.
2. Add potatoes, carrots, leeks, and pearl onions to pot with stock. Increase heat to medium and simmer until vegetables are soft, 20–30 minutes. Transfer vegetables to platter with chicken, cover, and return to oven to keep warm. Keep stock warm over low heat.
3. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Whisk in 1 1⁄2 cups of the stock (save the rest for another use). Add cream and parsley and simmer, stirring, until sauce thickens, 3–5 minutes. Grate truffles on large holes of a box grater, then add to sauce. Add nutmeg and season to taste with salt. Divide chicken and vegetables between 6 plates, spoon sauce over chicken, and garnish each with a rosemary sprig.
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