Auge Valley Chicken Stew
Submitted by spygirl007
A rustic French chicken stew from Normandy’s Auge Valley with golden apples, mushrooms, creme fraiche, and a splash of calvados. Slow simmered comfort food at its finest.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
20 minREADY
40 minStraight from the apple orchards of Normandy, this hearty chicken stew is French country cooking at its most soulful.
Golden chicken pieces braise low and slow with white wine, thyme, and bay leaves until the meat practically falls off the bone.
The real magic happens in the sauce: creme fraiche, egg yolks, and a generous splash of calvados whipped into a velvety finish.
Caramelized apples arranged around the chicken bring a sweet counterpoint that makes every forkful feel like autumn in the French countryside.
Pro Tips
- Use firm apples like Pippin or Granny Smith that hold their shape when cooked
- Build the sauce in a double boiler to prevent the egg yolks from scrambling
- Make this a day ahead for even deeper, more developed flavors
- Serve with crusty bread to soak up every drop of that calvados cream sauce
Ingredients
Directions
In a cast iron casserole, lightly brown the chicken in half the butter and 2 tablespoons oil.
When all the pieces are nice and golden, add the carrots, shallots and the sliced onion and cook for a few minutes.
Pour the white wine and 1 cup of water over the chicken, then add the clove studded onion and the garlic.
Add some thyme leaves and bay leaves and season with salt and pepper.
Cover and simmer over low heat for 40 minutes.
Remove the chicken from the heat, arrange the pieces of chicken in an ovenproof serving dish and keep warm.
Pass the cooking liquid through a sieve.
Set the vegetables aside and keep warm.
Meanwhile melt the remaining butter in a skillet with the oil, all the apples and cook until just lightly brown on all sides.
Remove the apples from the skillet and arrange them around the chicken. Keep the dish warm in the oven.
Set aside to add the sauce.
To make sauce: Pour the strained, cooked liquid into a saucepan and set over medium heat.
With a whisk beat in the cream, the calvados and egg yolks in that order.
Simmer in double boiler until it has thickened to a light cream.
Stir in the mushrooms and vegetables, discarding the clove-studded onion. Adjust seasoning.
Remove the dish from the oven, spoon some of the sauce over the chicken and por the remaining sauce into a sauceboat and serve.
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