Poularde Valencienne

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy lidded casserole sized for the poultry, as required by Poëlings (No. 250)
• •2-quart heavy saucepan for the sauce
• •3 to 4-quart wide saucepan for the risotto
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Rimmed broiler tray with wire rack
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Warmed oval serving platter and sauceboat

Instructions

1. 1

   Set the service

   Bring the chicken stock to a bare simmer, then measure 1½ cups (360 ml / 360 g) for the sauce and reserve the remainder for the risotto. Arrange the diced ham, sliced ham, tomato purée, cream, cheese, and divided butter where you can reach them. The final twenty minutes move quickly, and mise en place is how one cook replaces three.

2. 2

   Poël the poultry

   Prepare the poularde or young chicken according to Poëlings (No. 250), keeping that referenced preparation whole rather than rebuilding it inside this recipe. Begin checking the bird at the time specified there; remove it when the thickest part of the breast reaches 160°F (71°C) and the thigh reaches about 170°F (77°C). Rest it covered for 20 minutes and verify that the breast reaches 165°F (74°C) before serving.

   A true poularde has more fat than an ordinary young chicken. If yours is lean, the careful butter treatment prescribed in Poëlings matters even more; technique first, always.
3. 3

   Build the velouté

   While the poultry cooks, melt 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) of the butter in a 2-quart saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes without letting it brown. Whisk in the reserved 1½ cups (360 ml / 360 g) hot stock gradually, scraping into every corner, then simmer gently for 15 minutes until the velouté coats the back of a spoon. If it forms lumps, take it off the heat and whisk firmly, then pass it through a fine sieve. Ça se rattrape.

4. 4

   Tomaté the suprême

   Whisk the cream into the velouté and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Add the tomato purée and continue cooking until its color and flavor are distinctly perceptible, which is precisely what tomatéd means; the sauce should be coral rather than red. Season with a little salt and white pepper, strain it, and hold it over the gentlest heat with parchment touching the surface. If it tightens, loosen it with hot stock. If oily beads appear, remove it from the heat and whisk in a spoonful of cold cream.

5. 5

   Nacrer the rice

   When the poultry begins its rest, melt 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) butter in a wide, heavy saucepan. Add the onion with a small pinch of salt and cook gently until soft and translucent, never browned. Stir in the rice and nacrer it, coating and heating the grains until they look pearly and their edges turn translucent. Pour in the white wine and stir until the pan is nearly dry.

6. 6

   Feed the risotto

   Add the remaining hot stock about ½ cup (120 ml / 120 g) at a time, stirring steadily and waiting until each addition is nearly absorbed before adding the next. Keep the pan at a lively simmer, not a boil, for 18 to 22 minutes. The rice is ready when each grain is tender around a minute core and the whole moves as one creamy mass. If it becomes stiff before the rice is done, add more hot stock or hot water; if it is loose when the grains are ready, stir over the heat for another minute.

7. 7

   Fold in the ham

   Take the risotto off the heat and fold in the diced Jambon de Paris, Parmesan, and 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) butter. Taste before adding more salt because the ham and cheese have already spoken. Season with white pepper, cover, and rest for 2 minutes. For this garnish the risotto should be supple but moundable, not flowing; if it tightens while waiting, loosen it with one spoonful of hot stock.

8. 8

   Grill the crown

   Turn the broiler to high and arrange the ham slices in one layer on a rack set over a rimmed tray. Broil close to the heat for 1 to 2 minutes per side, watching without wandering, until the meat blisters and its edges take dark char. Grill the ham hard. Those edges are the seasoning, not decoration.

   If one slice darkens ahead of the others, remove it and keep going. Ham varies in moisture, and the broiler has no interest in fairness.
9. 9

   Build the platter

   Reheat the tomatéd sauce suprême without boiling and whisk in the final 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) butter off the heat until it gleams. Set the rested poultry in the center of a warmed oval platter and spoon the ham risotto around it in a generous ring. Overlap the grilled ham slices across the risotto to form a loose crown, leaving their charred edges visible. Pour the sauce into a warmed sauceboat and serve it separately, as the formula requires. À table!

Chef Tips

• •A true poularde can be difficult to find. Choose a plump young chicken weighing no more than 4 pounds (1.8 kg); a very large roasting bird cooks more slowly and loses the delicacy this composition needs.
• •The stock carries both risotto and sauce, so taste it before you begin. If it seems thin, reduce it until it tastes distinctly of chicken, then measure the required amount. If it is salty, dilute it before the rice concentrates it.
• •Tomatéd does not mean tomato sauce. Good canned passata gives clearer flavor than a tired fresh tomato and colors the suprême without overwhelming its chicken and cream foundation.
• •Ask for Jambon de Paris in both a thick piece for dicing and thin slices for grilling. The diced ham should remain juicy in the rice; the crown wants exposed edges that the broiler can darken.
• •Pour a rounded, dry white such as Mâcon-Villages, or a light red Beaujolais served slightly cool. Either has enough freshness for the cream and enough fruit for the tomato and grilled ham.

Advance Preparation

• •The sauce can be prepared through the tomato and cream stage one day ahead, cooled promptly, covered, and refrigerated. Reheat it gently and whisk in its final butter only before serving.
• •The onion and diced ham can be cut several hours ahead. Keep the ham covered in the refrigerator, and measure the rice, wine, cheese, and stock before guests arrive.
• •Cook the poultry the same evening. Its 20-minute rest is not dead time; it is exactly the window needed to finish the risotto, grill the ham, and bring the sauce back to its gloss.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 600g)