CHICKEN SUPREME (A LA RESTAURANT POLIDOR)

Chicken Supreme (A La Restaurant Polidor) image

This recipe is for chicken in a (French) supreme sauce. I had chicken supreme in Paris at Restaurant Polidor that was to die for. I have been trying to replicate it at home for a while. This is what I came up with. Besides the beautiful sauce in this recipe, my favorite part is the gallon of chicken broth I end up with when I'm finished. The cooking time of three hours assumes you can chop the vegetables while the chicken is boiling for the first time. This is a wonderful recipe for a rainy Autumn evening.

Provided by pkk101

Categories Whole Chicken

Time 3h

Yield 6 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 18

Previous Next

Ingredients

1 whole chicken (3-4 lbs)
salt
olive oil
3 carrots, unpeeled, coarsely chopped
2 celery ribs, coarsely chopped
2 small onions, peeled and quartered
4 garlic cloves, smashed, peeled and halved
2 bouillon cubes (optional) or 2 teaspoons , boullion paste (optional)
4 cloves
4 fresh thyme sprigs or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
4 peppercorns
1 european bay leaf
4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons butter
fresh ground pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4-1/2 cup heavy cream
1 lb potato, peeled and cut into bite size pieces

Steps:

Put the chicken in a large pot and fill pot with cold water until the chicken is completely covered.
Salt the water and bring to a boil over high heat.
Immediately turn the water off, pour off the water and set the chicken on a paper towel and pat dry. Rinse the pot.
Salt the chicken. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pot over medium high heat and brown the chicken on all sides. Set the chicken aside once again.
Add the carrot, celery, onion, and garlic to the pot with more oil if needed. Saute approximately 4 minutes until the some of the vegetables begin to brown.
Deglaze the bottom of the pot with a small amount of water and increase the heat to high. Place the chicken back in the pot and cover with water once again.
Add the boullion, cloves, thyme, peppercorns and bay and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 40-50 minutes.
While the chicken is simmering, boil the potatoes in salted water with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil added for about 15-20 minutes or until tender. Drain potatoes and set aside.
Remove the chicken from the water and set aside to cool. Pour 3 cups of the cooking liquid through a thin mesh strainer and keep warm in a small saucepan.
Once the chicken has cooled a bit, carve it and cut it into bite size pieces and place them in a bowl, putting any skin, scraps and the leftover carcass back into the large pot with the remaining cooking liquid (simmer this for a few more hours and you will have roughly a gallon of beautiful chicken stock).
In a 3 quart saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and add the flour. Reduce the heat to low and cook this roux for about 5 minutes.
Remove the roux pan from heat and pour in reserved warm cooking liquid whisking continuously. Set over medium heat and add the paprika and season with pepper. Continue whisking until the sauce comes to a boil and thickens enough to lightly coat a spoon.
Add 1/4 cup of the heavy cream and bring to a boil again, whisking frequently.
Season the sauce with salt and more pepper if desired, stirring after each addition. This step may be the most important in the recipe; get the seasoning right!
Add more heavy cream if necessary until a spoon dipped in the sauce has a thick coating when removed. It should be velvety and smooth but not quite as thick as a cheese sauce.
Add the chicken and potatoes and simmer for 3 minutes to warm them up.
Serve in shallow bowls with a side of crusty baguette or over rice. Garnish with a few fresh herbs to dress it up.