Pilaw de Volaille à l’Orientale

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •12-inch / 30 cm heavy sauté pan with lid
• •2-quart / 2-liter lidded saucepan
• •Four 6 fl oz / 180 ml ramekins or timbale molds
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Whisk and heatproof spatula

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the chicken

   Pat every chicken piece thoroughly dry. Season with 1½ teaspoons (7.5 ml / 9 g) of the salt and all the pepper, then leave it for 20 minutes while the surface loses its chill. Keep the stock hot in a small pan or heatproof jug. Dry chicken browns; wet chicken turns the butter watery and leaves the sauce without a proper fond.

   Separate the breast pieces from the legs and wings on your tray. They enter the braise at different times because a young chicken breast cooks sooner than its legs.
2. 2

   Brown in butter

   Melt 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) of the butter in a wide, heavy sauté pan over medium-high heat. When the foam subsides, brown the legs and wings deeply on both sides, then transfer them to a plate. Add 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) more butter and brown the breast pieces, working in batches if necessary. Let the meat release by itself before turning it. Pale chicken gives a pale, timid sauce; deep gold gives you the fond on which the whole dish rests.

   If the butter solids begin turning black, move the pan off the heat, remove the burnt fat without scraping away the sound brown fond, and continue with fresh butter at a lower heat.
3. 3

   Build the blond sauce

   Add 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) butter and lay in the capsicum quarters, cut side down. Let them color lightly for 2 minutes, add ¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g) of the stock, cover, and braise for 6 minutes, until flexible but not collapsing. Lift them out. Reduce the remaining liquid to a glaze, add two-thirds of the onion, and cook gently until translucent. Stir in the powdered ginger for 20 seconds, just long enough to release its fragrance, then add the flour and cook for 90 seconds. This is the roux blond, a pale butter-and-flour thickener. Gradually whisk in 1¾ cups (420 ml / 420 g) of the hot stock, scraping the fond from the pan floor. If the sauce lumps, stop pouring. Ça se rattrape: take the pan off the heat and whisk in stock a spoonful at a time until smooth, then continue.

4. 4

   Braise at a tremble

   Bring the sauce to a bare simmer and return the legs and wings. Cover loosely and cook for 10 minutes, then add the breast pieces and braised capsicums. Continue at the gentlest tremble for 15 to 20 minutes, turning the chicken once. The breasts are ready at 165°F / 74°C in their thickest part; the legs should reach at least 175°F / 79°C and yield easily beside the bone. If a breast finishes first, lift it out and cover it loosely while the legs continue. A hard boil tightens the meat and makes the sauce greasy, so keep the surface barely moving.

5. 5

   Cook the pilaff

   While the chicken braises, melt 1½ tablespoons (22.5 ml / 21 g) butter in a medium lidded saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the remaining onion and cook without color until soft. Stir in the drained rice and nacrer it, coating each grain in butter until the edges look translucent and the centers remain white. Pour in 1½ cups (360 ml / 360 g) hot stock, add the remaining ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 3 g) salt, and bring it to one full boil. Stir once, cover tightly, and cook over the lowest heat for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and rest, still covered, for 10 minutes. If the grains remain chalky after resting, add 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g) reserved stock, cover, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes more. If the rice is wet, uncover it and let it rest for 5 minutes before fluffing.

6. 6

   Finish the sauce

   Transfer the cooked chicken and capsicums to a warm platter. Boil the sauce gently for 3 to 6 minutes, until it coats the back of a spoon and a finger drawn through it leaves a clean path. If it tightens before it turns glossy, loosen it with a spoonful of the reserved stock. Take the pan off the heat and monter au beurre, finishing the sauce by whisking in 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) cold butter. Taste and correct the salt. If the sauce looks oily after the butter enters, whisk in 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 5 g) cold stock away from the heat. Return the chicken and capsicums and turn them carefully in the sauce.

7. 7

   Mold and serve

   Use the remaining ½ tablespoon (7.5 ml / 7 g) butter to coat four warmed 6 fl oz / 180 ml ramekins. Fluff the pilaff with a fork, spoon it into the molds, and press only lightly so the grains remain distinct. Wait 30 seconds, invert one timbale onto each warm plate, and lift the mold straight up. Set two pieces of chicken beside each timbale, arrange three capsicum quarters through the sauce, and spoon the glossy sauce over the chicken without drowning the rice. Serve at once. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Use powdered ginger, not fresh. The source names the powdered spice deliberately: it disperses through the blond sauce and gives warmth without the wet sharpness or fibers of fresh ginger.
• •Keep all three green capsicums. Small ones give twelve tidy quarters, three for each plate, and preserve the source proportion. Red capsicums are sweeter and would change the dish's balance.
• •Choose a full-flavored, lightly salted chicken stock. A weak stock leaves nowhere for the reduced sauce to go, while a salty one can become harsh before it reaches the proper consistency.
• •Long-grain rice is essential for the pilaff. Arborio and other short-grain varieties release too much starch, so the timbale turns sticky instead of separating cleanly under the fork.
• •Pour a rounded dry white such as Mâcon-Villages. It has enough body for the butter sauce without arguing with the ginger and green capsicum.

Advance Preparation

• •The chicken may be cut and seasoned up to 6 hours ahead. Keep it covered in the refrigerator, then take it out 20 minutes before browning.
• •The capsicums and onion may be prepared earlier in the day and kept separately in covered containers.
• •The chicken can be braised up to one day ahead, but omit the final cold butter. Reheat it gently in the sauce, then monter au beurre immediately before serving.
• •Cook the pilaff close to serving. It can rest, tightly covered, for about 20 minutes, but fill and invert the timbales only when the chicken is ready.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 570g)