Poularde Souvaroff

Poularde Souvaroff (foie-gras-and-truffle-stuffed pullet sealed in a pot) teaches containment. The bird is poêlé, gently butter-roasted in a covered pot, then enclosed with Madeira, veal stock, foie gras, and truffles. The one true thing to know is this: the paste seal isn't theater. It holds the fragrance around the bird until the lid is broken at the table, and that first rush of truffle perfume is half the dish.

The grand kitchen assumed a saucier, veal stock never off the fire, and separate vessels for cooking and presentation. Your home equivalent is one snug heavy cocotte, a small measure of rich veal stock, and Poëlings (No. 250) scaled for a single bird. The extra vessel was brigade scaffolding and can go. The dry butter cooking, full foie gras and truffle proportions, Madeira reduction, and unbroken paste seal are the dish, so they stay. One cook, one stove, one evening.

Guard the seal. Roll the paste evenly, press it continuously around the lid, and patch any crack as soon as it appears. A pale bird can be corrected during the poëling and an over-reduced Madeira can be loosened, but fragrance escaping through a neglected gap cannot be called back.