Poulet Sauté Verdi

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •3-quart heavy saucepan
• •12-inch ovenproof skillet
• •8-inch heavy skillet for the foie gras
• •Large oval serving platter
• •6-inch heatproof bowl to guide the rizotto border
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Small whisk

Instructions

1. 1

   Set the kitchen

   Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Dry the chicken thoroughly, then season it with 1½ teaspoons of the salt and ½ teaspoon of the white pepper. Keep the foie gras cold, slice the truffle, measure the Asti and veal stock, and return the sauce butter to the refrigerator. Set a large oval serving platter in hot water, then dry it just before shaping the rizotto. This mise en place is not fussiness. Once the foie gras meets its pan, the dish moves without pause.

2. 2

   Cook the rizotto

   Melt 2 tablespoons of the rizotto butter in a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook without colouring until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the rice and cook for 2 minutes, turning every grain through the butter until the edges look translucent. Add the hot chicken stock a ladle at a time, stirring regularly and waiting until each addition is nearly absorbed before adding the next. After 18 to 20 minutes, the grains should be tender with a slight firmness at their centres and the rizotto should hold a soft mound.

3. 3

   Shape the border

   Take the rizotto off the heat and beat in the remaining 2 tablespoons rizotto butter, the Parmigiano-Reggiano, and most of the remaining salt and pepper. Taste before adding the rest. The border needs to be firmer than a bowl of risotto but still creamy inside. If it spreads, cook it for another minute; if it has tightened into a paste, beat in hot stock one tablespoon at a time. Ça se rattrape. Place a heatproof 6-inch bowl upside down in the centre of the warmed platter, spoon the rizotto around it in a broad even ring, then lift away the bowl. Cover the border with buttered parchment and keep it beside the stove for no longer than 35 minutes.

4. 4

   Sauté the chicken

   Melt 2 tablespoons of the chicken butter in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat, keeping the final tablespoon in reserve. When the foam subsides, brown the chicken in uncrowded batches, skin-side first, until every piece is a deep butter-gold. Begin with the legs, which need the longer cooking. Return all the pieces to the skillet skin-side up, baste them with the butter, and finish in the oven for 15 to 22 minutes. Remove the breast pieces when they reach 165°F (74°C); let the legs continue to about 175°F (79°C), when their joints move easily. If the butter turns black rather than nut-brown, lift out the chicken, wipe away the bitter solids, and continue with the reserved butter. Ça se rattrape, but scorched butter cannot build a good sauce.

5. 5

   Build the centre

   Rest the chicken for 5 minutes. Remove the parchment from the rizotto and arrange the chicken compactly in the open centre, building a little height without hiding the browned skin. Pour excess fat from the chicken skillet into a bowl, leaving the brown fond attached to the pan. Keep a folded towel around the skillet handle, which will remain very hot from the oven.

6. 6

   Sear the foie gras

   Heat a clean dry skillet until properly hot. Pat the cold foie gras dry and sear the escalopes for 20 to 30 seconds on each side, just until their faces take a dark caramel colour. Turn off the heat, add the teaspoon of butter, and tilt the pan so the butter glosses the slices. This is the home correction to the source's butter-tossed foie gras: foie gras supplies ample fat of its own, so butter goes in after the sear, where it flavours without burning. If a slice softens and begins shedding heavily, lift it out at once. A cracked escalope can be tucked behind a truffle slice in the crown. Never apologize at your own table.

7. 7

   Crown the chicken

   Lean the foie gras escalopes against the chicken around the inner edge of the rizotto border, alternating each piece with several overlapping slices of black truffle. Keep the caramel faces visible and make a complete crown rather than scattering the garnish. The geometry has a purpose: the rice catches the sauce while the foie gras and truffle perfume the chicken.

8. 8

   Mount the Asti sauce

   Set the chicken skillet over medium-high heat and swill it with the Asti, pouring in the wine and scraping until every soluble brown speck of fond releases from the pan. Reduce the Asti to about 2 tablespoons, glossy and lightly syrupy, then add exactly 3 tablespoons of veal stock and simmer for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat. Monter au beurre, whisk in the cold butter, one cube at a time, until the sauce is smooth, lightly thickened, and gleaming. Do not boil after the butter enters. If the sauce turns greasy, put a teaspoon of cold water in a clean warm bowl and whisk the broken sauce into it in a thin stream. Ça se rattrape.

9. 9

   Sauce and serve

   Taste the sauce for salt and white pepper, remembering that the veal stock and Parmigiano-Reggiano already carry seasoning. Spoon the Asti sauce over the pieces of chicken as the source directs, allowing a little to pool against the inner edge of the rizotto while leaving the seared foie gras and truffle crown visible. Carry the platter straight to the table. This dish waits for no speech. À table!

Chef Tips

• •The three tablespoons of veal stock look modest because the stock must be concentrated. Use homemade brown veal stock reduced until lightly gelatinous, or reduce a good unsalted prepared stock by half. A thin carton poured straight into the pan gives volume, not backbone.
• •Use fresh black truffle when its scent is full, or a whole preserved black truffle drained and dried carefully. The classical pantry has always understood preservation. Truffle oil cannot supply the slices, texture, or clean aroma this crown requires.
• •Keep the foie gras cold until the skillet is ready, and use a dry pan. The source tosses it in butter, but fresh foie gras renders immediately; the small off-heat addition of butter preserves the intended flavour without scorching either fat.
• •Asti brings sweetness as well as perfume, so reduce it carefully and use unsalted stock. If your bottle is particularly sweet, stop the reduction when it becomes lightly syrupy rather than forcing it toward caramel.
• •Serve with a dry Champagne or a firm, mineral white Burgundy. The dish already has richness and fragrance enough; the glass should clear the palate, not compete with the truffle.

Advance Preparation

• •Cut and season the chicken up to 8 hours ahead, then keep it covered in the refrigerator. Dry the skin again before it enters the butter.
• •The chicken and veal stocks can be prepared and portioned up to 3 days ahead. Keep the concentrated veal stock separate so its exact three-tablespoon measure is ready for the sauce.
• •Grate the Parmigiano-Reggiano, chop the onion, measure the rice, and cube the sauce butter earlier in the day. Keep the butter cold and the foie gras colder.
• •Do not fully cook the rizotto hours ahead, and do not make the mounted sauce in advance. The border tolerates a brief warm hold, but the foie gras and Asti butter sauce belong to the final minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 530g)