Poularde à la Hongroise

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Snug 5-quart lidded cocotte or Dutch oven
• •Two medium saucepans, one with a tight-fitting lid
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Four 4-ounce (120 ml) ramekins or timbale molds
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Warm oval serving platter and sauceboat

Instructions

1. 1

   Start the poêling

   Set the oven to 350°F (180°C). Prepare the seasoned pullet using Poëlings (No. 250), keeping that referenced preparation whole. For this four-serving scale, a snug 5-quart lidded cocotte is the honest equivalent of the deep professional vessel, and a 4-pound bird generally needs 60 to 75 minutes. Do not add liquid while it cooks; poêler means roasting gently with butter under cover, not braising. Uncover for the final coloring specified in the preparation, and begin the sauce while the bird cooks.

   Temperature decides when the bird is ready, not the clock. Look for at least 165°F (74°C) in the thickest breast and 175°F (79°C) where the thigh meets the body.
2. 2

   Make the velouté

   Melt the 2 tablespoons butter for the velouté in a medium saucepan over gentle heat. Stir in the flour and cook this blond roux, the pale butter-and-flour thickener, for 2 minutes without letting it color. Add the 2 cups warm stock a little at a time, whisking each addition smooth before the next. Simmer gently for 10 minutes, skimming any foam, until the velouté lightly coats a spoon. If small lumps form, take the pan off the heat and whisk briskly; the finished sauce will also be strained.

3. 3

   Wake the paprika

   Melt the 2 tablespoons butter for the paprika base in a second saucepan over low heat. Add the finely chopped onion with a pinch of salt and sweat it for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring often, until soft and translucent but not browned. Pull the pan off the heat, stir in the paprika for no more than 10 seconds, then pour in the white wine immediately. If the paprika develops black flecks or an acrid smell, stop. Burned paprika cannot be diluted into obedience; discard this small base, wipe the pan, and begin it again. Ça se rattrape. Return the sound base to medium heat and reduce the wine by about two-thirds, until only a syrupy layer remains around the onion.

   Use fresh sweet Hungarian paprika, not smoked paprika. The color should be a lively brick red and the aroma gently peppery, never dusty.
4. 4

   Finish sauce Hongroise

   Whisk the hot velouté into the paprika-and-wine reduction and hold it at a bare simmer for 5 minutes. Add the cream and simmer for another 3 to 5 minutes, until the sauce nappes, coating the back of a spoon in a smooth, glossy layer. Pass it through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan. Off the heat, whisk in the cold diced butter a few pieces at a time, then season with salt and white pepper. If the sauce looks oily, whisk 1 tablespoon of cold stock in a clean bowl and add the troubled sauce gradually until it comes together. Keep it warm without boiling.

5. 5

   Cook the pilaf

   About 30 minutes before the pullet is ready, melt the pilaf butter in a lidded saucepan over medium-low heat. Sweat the chopped onion without coloring for 4 minutes, add the rice, and stir for 2 minutes until each grain looks pearly at the edges. Add the 1 1/2 cups warm stock, the bay leaf, and a measured pinch of salt. Bring it just to a boil, cover tightly, and cook over the lowest heat for 15 minutes without stirring. Take it off the heat and leave it covered for 10 minutes. If the liquid has vanished while the rice remains firm, add 2 tablespoons of stock, cover, and cook gently for another 3 minutes.

6. 6

   Rest the pullet

   When the pullet has completed Poëlings (No. 250) and reached its safe internal temperature, transfer it to a warm board or platter and cover it loosely. Rest for 15 minutes so the juices settle into the meat. Strain and reserve any clean poëling juices; a spoonful can loosen the sauce Hongroise if needed, but do not replace the paprika sauce with ordinary roasting juices.

7. 7

   Shape tomato timbales

   Remove the bay leaf and fluff the rested pilaf with a fork. Blot the tomato dice dry, then fold them through gently so they remain distinct red cubes rather than dissolving into the rice. Butter four 4-ounce (120 ml) ramekins, pack the pilaf in firmly without crushing it, and let the molds stand for 5 minutes. Wet rice or watery tomato makes a timbale slump, so if the mixture seems loose, leave it uncovered for a few minutes before molding.

8. 8

   Dish and serve

   Set the whole rested pullet on a warmed oval platter. Spoon enough sauce Hongroise over it to coat the skin in a glossy layer without hiding its bronze color. Invert the four tomato pilaf timbales around the bird, lifting each ramekin straight upward. Pour the remaining sauce into a warm sauceboat and send it separately, exactly as the dish requires. Present the pullet whole, then carve it at the table or just before serving. À table!

Chef Tips

• •A poularde is a plump young hen prized for its tender flesh and generous fat. If your butcher cannot supply one, choose a compact, well-fleshed roasting chicken of about the same weight. Technique first, always.
• •Paprika loses its perfume after a long stay in the cupboard. Buy sweet Hungarian paprika from a shop with good turnover, keep it away from light, and replace it when its red color begins to dull.
• •When tomatoes are out of season, use good canned whole plum tomatoes. Drain them thoroughly, remove the seeds, and cut the firm pulp into dice. An honest preserved tomato is better than a pale fresh one.
• •Sauce Hongroise should taste of chicken and butter first, with onion and paprika carrying the middle. If paprika is the only thing you taste, loosen the sauce with stock and another spoonful of cream.
• •Pour a full-bodied dry white, such as white Burgundy, or a light red served slightly cool. The wine needs enough freshness to meet the butter and cream without quarreling with the paprika.

Advance Preparation

• •The velouté and the paprika-wine reduction can be made separately up to 1 day ahead, cooled promptly, and refrigerated. Reheat them gently, combine them, and add the cream and cold butter shortly before serving.
• •Peel, seed, and dice the tomatoes up to 2 hours ahead. Keep the dice chilled in a sieve so excess juice drains away before it reaches the pilaf.
• •The pullet can be trussed and seasoned up to 1 day ahead. Keep it uncovered in the refrigerator for drier skin, then remove it from the cold about 30 minutes before beginning Poëlings (No. 250).

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 580g)