Suprêmes de Volaille aux Fonds d’Artichauts

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Sharp paring knife
• •Teaspoon or small melon baller
• •12-inch or 30 cm heavy sauté pan
• •10-inch or 25 cm skillet for the artichokes
• •Small light-coloured saucepan
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Small warmed sauceboat

Instructions

1. 1

   Turn the artichokes

   Fill a large bowl with cold water, squeeze in the lemon, and add the spent halves. Pull the leaves from each artichoke, cut the stem flush with the base, and use a sharp paring knife to tourner the artichoke, trimming away every tough green patch until only the pale bottom remains. Scoop out the fuzzy choke with a teaspoon or melon baller and place the bottom in the lemon water at once. Slice each raw bottom about ⅛ inch or 3 mm thick just before cooking.

   Trim decisively. Any dark green left on the bottom will remain fibrous, however carefully you cook it.
2. 2

   Prepare the suprêmes

   Pat the suprêmes completely dry. If one end is much thicker than the other, place the breast between sheets of parchment and tap only the thick end until the meat is an even ¾ inch or 2 cm thick; this is evening the fillet, not turning it into an escalope. Season both sides with about 1¼ teaspoons of the salt and half the white pepper. Mash the softened butter with the flour to make a smooth beurre manié (kneaded butter and flour), then keep it beside the measured stock.

3. 3

   Butter the artichokes

   Drain the sliced artichoke bottoms and dry them thoroughly. Melt the butter for the artichokes in a wide skillet over medium heat, add the slices with ½ teaspoon salt and a pinch of white pepper, and toss until every surface shines. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, turning often, until a knife enters without resistance but the slices still hold their shape. Keep the butter pale. If it begins browning before the artichokes are tender, lower the heat and add 1 tablespoon of water; ça se rattrape. Move the skillet off the heat and cover loosely.

4. 4

   Sauté the suprêmes

   Heat a heavy 12-inch or 30 cm sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the clarified butter. When it flows freely and looks bright, lay in the suprêmes skin side down, pressing them gently for the first 30 seconds so the skin meets the pan evenly. Sauté without shifting them for 5 to 7 minutes, until the skin is deep gold and releases cleanly. Turn, lower the heat to medium-low, and cook for another 5 to 7 minutes, until the thickest part reaches 160 to 162°F or 71 to 72°C. If the colour races ahead of the centre, pull the pan off the heat for 30 seconds, lower the flame, and continue gently. Transfer the suprêmes to a warm plate, skin side up, and rest them for 5 minutes; carryover heat will finish the cooking.

5. 5

   Build the jus lié

   Spoon away all but about 1 teaspoon of fat from the sauté pan, leaving the brown fond untouched. Pour in the chicken stock and scrape the pan thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Boil until reduced by roughly one-third, about 5 minutes, then lower the heat to a bare simmer. Whisk in the beurre manié a small piece at a time and simmer for 2 minutes, stopping when the jus lié coats the back of a spoon yet still pours freely. Add the juices released by the resting chicken and taste for salt and white pepper. If the gravy tightens too far, whisk in hot water or stock 1 tablespoon at a time; if it is thin, reduce it another minute. If small lumps appear, whisk firmly and strain. Ça se rattrape. Pass the gravy through a fine sieve into a warmed sauceboat.

6. 6

   Finish the garnish

   Return the artichokes to low heat only long enough to restore their butter sheen. Fold in the fines herbes off the heat so the chervil and tarragon keep their fragrance and the chives stay green. Taste one slice and correct the remaining salt and white pepper. Keep the garnish warm while you brown the finishing butter.

7. 7

   Make the beurre noisette

   Put the finishing butter in the smallest light-coloured saucepan you own and melt it over medium heat, tilting the pan so this small quantity gathers at one side. The foam will rise, subside, and reveal milk solids turning hazelnut brown. The moment the butter smells nutty, pour it into a cool spoon or small bowl to stop the cooking. If the solids turn black and bitter, begin again; two teaspoons of butter are cheaper than carrying burnt flavour across four suprêmes.

8. 8

   Dish and serve

   Spread the buttered artichoke bottoms across a warm oval platter and arrange the suprêmes over them, skin side up. Sprinkle only a few small drops of beurre noisette over each piece, dividing the scant butter among them without flooding the crisp surface. Bring the warm jus lié to the table separately in its sauceboat, exactly as the dish requires. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask for skin-on, boneless chicken breasts of similar weight. The skin protects the fillet and gives the sauté its bronze surface; equal thickness matters more than an expensive label.
• •Fresh globe artichokes give the cleanest flavour and firmest slices. If the market has only tired specimens, use frozen whole artichoke bottoms, thawed and dried well, knowing they will be slightly softer. Marinated hearts are too acidic and are not a substitute here.
• •Clarified butter belongs under the chicken because its milk solids have been removed, allowing a hotter sauté without scorching. Whole butter belongs with the artichokes and in the beurre noisette because its milk solids provide flavour. The distinction is the dish.
• •Chervil can be elusive. If it is unavailable, increase the parsley rather than adding another strong herb; the fines herbes will lose a little of their anise fragrance, but their balance will remain intact.
• •Artichokes can make tannic wine taste metallic. Pour a dry, lively white with little oak, such as a Jacquère from Savoie or a restrained Chardonnay from the Jura; acidity handles the butter, and the wine stays out of the artichoke’s way.
• •The suprêmes are best served immediately. Refrigerate leftovers with the gravy in a separate container for up to 2 days, then reheat the chicken gently in a covered skillet with a spoonful of stock and warm the gravy separately.

Advance Preparation

• •Clarified butter can be prepared up to 1 week ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Bring it back to a soft, spoonable state before cooking.
• •The artichoke bottoms can be turned up to 2 hours ahead and held whole in lemon water. Slice and dry them only when the pan is ready, since cut surfaces absorb water and lose their clean sauté.
• •The beurre manié can be mixed earlier in the day and refrigerated. Let it soften before whisking it into the gravy so it disperses without lumps.
• •Wash and dry the fines herbes a day ahead, but chop them shortly before cooking. Their perfume fades quickly once the knife has passed through them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 265g)