Fricassee Of Game Hen With Creamy Leeks And Vadouvan Recipes

FRICASSEE OF GAME HEN RECIPE

Steps:

• Make stock: Heat oil in a heavy medium pot over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Cook backbones and wing tips until well browned on all sides. Add water and bring to a boil, skimming froth occasionally. Add remaining ingredients and boil, uncovered, 30 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean saucepan, pressing on and then discarding solids. Boil stock until reduced to about 2 cups.Make fricassee: Pat hens dry and season with 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Heat oil in a deep 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Brown hens in batches (without crowding), turning once, about 8 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate. Halve white and pale green parts of leeks lengthwise, then cut into 1-inch pieces and wash. Pour off all but 1 Tbsp fat from skillet, then cook leeks with 1 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally and scraping up brown bits, until leeks begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add wine and bring to a boil. Stir in stock, cream, and vadouvan. Nestle hens, skin sides up, into leeks. Cover with a round of parchment paper. Gently simmer 10 minutes. Remove parchment and simmer until hens are cooked through, about 10 minutes more. Transfer hens to a platter and simmer sauce to thicken slightly if desired. Cooks' note: Fricassee can be made 1 day ahead and chilled. Reheat gently.

BELGIAN CHICKEN FRICASSEE (VOL-AU-VENT)

Steps:

• Cook the chicken breasts or the chicken in the chicken stock, until tender (breasts should take about 30 minutes, a whole chicken 45 minutes or more). Drain, but keep the stock. Let the chicken cool down a bit.
• In the meanwhile, make tiny meatballs (max. 1 cm across) from the minced meat. Cook the meatballs in chicken stock or water until they are done -- this usually takes just a few minutes, the meatballs will drift to the top when ready. Drain them as well.
• Make a "blonde" sauce: melt most of the butter in a medium-sized pot (don't let it become brown), add flour and mix well. Keep the pot on medium heat. Then, very gradually, add splashes (think 2-3 tablespoons) of chicken stock to this mixture. Each time you added some stock, stir very well so that the mixture doesn't become lumpy. You can start adding increasing amounts of stock when your sauce becomes liquidish. Make a sauce that is somewhat thicker than cream; you will probably use most of your chicken stock in this process. This is fine.
• Quickly add the raw egg yolk, the lemon juice and the grated cheese to your sauce.
• In a large pot, melt the remaining lump of butter and add the mushrooms. Stir-fry the mushrooms on medium heat until they start to "sweat" (release their juices). Season with salt and pepper.
• Add the sauce and the ham dices to the mushrooms. Add the meatballs as well. Put on low heat.
• With your hands or a knife, pull apart the chicken and make bite-sized pieces (about 1 inch long, 1/2 inch across, or smaller). Add the chicken pieces to your mixture as well.
• Ready! Do check if the dish needs a bit more salt or pepper. You can eat the Vol-Au-Vent as it is, with potatoes or rices; you can also pour it in Vol-Au-Vent shells (puff pastry) or even make a chicken fricassee pie (in a puff pastry pie shell).

FRICASSEE OF GAME HEN WITH CREAMY LEEKS AND VADOUM

Steps:

• Make stock:
• Heat oil in a heavy medium pot over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Cook backbones and wing tips until well browned on all sides. Add water and bring to a boil, skimming froth occasionally. Add remaining ingredients and boil, uncovered, 30 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean saucepan, pressing on and then discarding solids. Boil stock until reduced to about 2 cups.
• Make fricassee:
• Pat hens dry and season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Heat oil in a deep 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Brown hens in batches (without crowding), turning once, about 8 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate.
• Halve white and pale green parts of leeks lengthwise, then cut into 1-inch pieces and wash. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet, then cook leeks with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally and scraping up brown bits, until leeks begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add wine and bring to a boil. Stir in stock, cream, and vadouvan. Nestle hens, skin sides up, into leeks. Cover with a round of parchment paper. Gently simmer 10 minutes. Remove parchment and simmer until hens are cooked through, about 10 minutes more. Transfer hens to a platter and simmer sauce to thicken slightly if desired.