Poularde Mireille

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy lidded 5-to-6-quart cocotte or braiser
• •Instant-read meat thermometer
• •Four straight-sided 1/2-cup ramekins or timbale molds
• •Wide 10-to-12-inch sauté pan
• •Warm oval serving platter
• •Small sauceboat

Instructions

1. 1

   Bloom the saffron

   Warm 1/4 cup (60 ml / 60 g) of the chicken stock until it feels hot but never boils. Crumble in the saffron, cover, and leave it for 15 minutes, until the liquid smells floral and turns deep gold. Reserve another 1/4 cup (60 ml / 60 g) stock for adjustments. If dry saffron has already gone into the rice and gives colour without scent, ça se rattrape: bloom the extra pinch in 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g) of the reserved warm stock, fold it through the hot rice, cover, and wait 5 minutes.

2. 2

   Poêle the poularde

   Season the poularde inside and out with about two-thirds of the salt and half the white pepper, then carry out Poëlings (No. 250), scaled for this single bird. The referenced preparation governs the butter, vegetable bed, covered cooking, basting, and uncovered colouring, so it stays whole rather than being re-derived here. Begin checking the bird after about 70 minutes. The deepest part of the thigh must reach 165°F / 74°C, while the breast should be at least 160°F / 71°C and reach 165°F / 74°C during its covered rest. Do not moisten the vessel while the bird cooks; liquid would turn poêling into a white braise. If the vegetables threaten to burn first, lower the heat and transfer the poularde with the sound vegetables and butter to a clean warm vessel, leaving any blackened pieces behind.

3. 3

   Cook the saffron rice

   When the poularde has about 35 minutes left, melt 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) butter in a saucepan. Add the drained rice and stir gently for 2 minutes, until each grain is coated and faintly translucent at its edge. Pour in the bloomed saffron stock and 1 3/4 cups (420 ml / 420 g) plain stock, then add 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 6 g) salt. Bring it to a bare simmer, cover tightly, and cook over the gentlest heat for 16 minutes. Remove it from the heat and leave it covered for 10 minutes. If the rice is firm and dry, sprinkle in reserved stock one tablespoon at a time; if wet, spread it in a wide warm pan for 2 minutes so the excess moisture escapes.

4. 4

   Mold the timbales

   Butter four 1/2-cup ramekins or timbale molds with 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) butter. Fluff the rice, taste for seasoning, and pack it into the molds while warm, pressing firmly enough to remove gaps without crushing the grains. Cover and hold them warm. If a timbale sticks at service, run a thin knife around its edge and wrap the mold in a hot towel for 20 seconds. If it slumps, pack it again and let it stand for 5 minutes before the second attempt.

5. 5

   Concass the tomatoes

   Concass the peeled and seeded tomatoes, cutting them into rough 1/2-inch / 1-cm pieces. Melt 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g) butter in a wide sauté pan, add the tomatoes with the remaining salt and white pepper, and cook over medium-high heat for 8 to 12 minutes. Stir just often enough to prevent catching. They are ready when glossy and tender but still visibly chopped, with no watery puddle beneath them. If they release too much liquid, move them to the widest pan you own and let the water cook away; patience preserves the concassée better than thickener.

6. 6

   Fill the tartlets

   Brush the insides of the tartlet shells with 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) melted butter and warm them for 5 minutes in a moderate oven so their edges are crisp. Spoon the hot tomato concassée into each shell and set one pitted black olive on top. Fill them only just before dishing, since a tartlet left under wet tomato softens. If the shells have already softened, empty them carefully and return the unfilled shells to the oven for several minutes before refilling.

7. 7

   Finish the sauce

   Warm the tomato sauce in a small saucepan until it holds a gentle simmer and coats a spoon lightly. If it is loose, reduce it uncovered; if it has tightened too far, add the reserved stock a spoonful at a time. Take it off the heat and whisk in the final 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) butter for a clear gloss, then pour it into a warm sauceboat. The sauce is served separately, exactly as the dish requires.

8. 8

   Dish the Mireille

   Rest the finished poularde, covered loosely, for 20 minutes. Set it whole on a warm oval platter, or carve it neatly and re-form the pieces if table carving would delay dinner. Unmold the four saffron rice timbales around it, alternating each with a tomato-filled tartlet so the ring reads gold, red, and black. Bring the tomato sauce alongside rather than pouring it over the crisp skin or garnishes. À table!

Chef Tips

• •A poularde is a plump young hen prized for tender flesh and generous fat. If your butcher cannot supply one, choose the broadest, best-fleshed roasting chicken you can comfortably buy. Technique first, always.
• •Buy saffron threads, not powder. Crush them only as they enter the warm stock, then cover the cup so the perfume stays there instead of wandering around the kitchen.
• •In tomato season, ripe fresh fruit gives the concassée its clearest shape and acidity. When the market offers tired tomatoes, drain good canned whole tomatoes, seed them, and concass them instead. The classical pantry solved this long ago.
• •Prepare every garnish before the poularde finishes resting. The alternating ring should look generous, not architectural, and a slightly imperfect timbale tastes exactly as fine as a regimented one.
• •Pour a white Cassis or a dry Provençal rosé. Both meet the saffron, tomato, and olive without burying the butter-poêled bird.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare the smooth tomato sauce up to two days ahead, chill it promptly, and reheat it gently before finishing with butter.
• •Bake the tartlet shells one day ahead and keep them airtight at room temperature. Recrisp them briefly before filling.
• •The tomatoes can be peeled and seeded up to four hours ahead, but concass and cook them near service so they retain their shape.
• •Salt the poularde up to twelve hours ahead and leave it uncovered in the refrigerator. Bring it out while the remaining mise en place is gathered, then dry it again before poêling.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 690g)