Seasonal Recipe of the Week
Today we are going back to France; well one of us is anyway. But we can all go there for dinner! Here’s a simple chicken dish made with apples and Calvados, which is apple brandy.
Ingredients
1 chicken cut into 8 pieces
2 Gala or Winesap apples
1 tablespoon lemon juice
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 onion finely chopped
1 celery stalk finely minced
1 tablespoon A.P. flour
1/3 cup Calvados
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/3 cup crème Fraiche
Procedure
Peel and core the Apples. Finely chop half of one apple and cut the rest into wedges. Toss with lemon juice. Heat 1/2 the butter in a large sauté pan and sauté the chicken skin side down first then turn over till it's golden brown. Remove from the pan and pour off fat. Now heat 1 tablespoon more butter and sauté the onion, celery and chopped apple for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the flour. Stir well and add the calvados. Return to heat and gradually stir in the chicken stock. Bring to the boil and add the chicken back in. Cover and turn to a simmer and cook till chicken is cooked all the way through, 20-25 minutes. Now in a small sauté pan with the remaining tablespoon of butter sauté the apple slices till brown and tender and set aside.
To finish the dish remove the chicken to a warm platter, skim any excess fat from the pan, stir in the crème fraiche and bring to a boil for 4 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Season with salt and pepper and pour over the chicken and top with apples. Voila!
