Normandy Style Chicken And Leeks With Creme Fraiche Recipes

CHICKEN & LEEKS WITH CREME FRAICHE

Steps:

• Season chicken with salt and pepper. Melt butter and oil in a large sauté pan or enameled cast-iron Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just bubbling.
• Add chicken skin sides down; cook, turning once, until golden, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer chicken pieces to a plate and remove pot from heat; let cool slightly.
• Drain oil leaving a light coating on the bottom of the pan (enough to saute leeks.).
• Return pot to medium-low heat, and add leeks. Cook, stirring frequently, until leeks begin to soften and are pale golden, about 3 minutes.
• Add hard cider and thyme. Move leeks to edges of pot, and add all the chicken pieces to pot, skin sides down. Arrange leeks over chicken. Cover, and cook 15 minutes (if liquid is bubbling rapidly, reduce heat to low). Turn chicken pieces, and cook until breasts are cooked through, about 5 minutes more.
• Transfer the chicken to the serving dishes leaving the juices behind. Remove leeks from pot, and arrange the leeks around the chicken.
• Return pot to medium heat. Cook, uncovered, until liquid has reduced by about half (to about 1/2 cup), 8 to 10 minutes. (If the liquid is already cooked down, skip this step and add a few tablespoons of cider so that there is about ½ cup of liquid in the pan and warm).
• Reduce heat to medium-low. Whisk in the crème fraîche and optional parsley. Ladle pan sauce over chicken and leeks.
• Serve immediately.

NORMANDY-STYLE CHICKEN AND LEEKS WITH CRèME FRAîCHE

Steps:

• Season chicken with salt and pepper. Melt butter with the oil in a large enameled cast-iron Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just bubbling. Add half the chicken pieces, skin sides down; cook, turning once, until golden, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer chicken pieces to a plate; set aside. Repeat with remaining chicken pieces; add to plate. Remove pot from heat; let cool slightly.
• Return pot to medium-low heat, and add leeks. Cook, stirring frequently, until leeks begin to soften and are pale golden, about 3 minutes. Add hard cider and thyme. Move leeks to edges of pot, and add all the chicken pieces to pot, skin sides down. Arrange leeks over chicken. Cover, and cook 15 minutes (if liquid is bubbling rapidly, reduce heat to low). Turn chicken pieces, and cook until breasts are cooked through, about 5 minutes more.
• Transfer chicken breasts to a plate, and cover to keep warm. Adjust leeks so they are submerged in liquid. Cook, uncovered, until the remaining chicken pieces are tender and cooked through, about 10 minutes.
• Using a slotted spoon, transfer all of the chicken to a warm serving platter. Remove leeks from pot, and arrange the leeks around chicken. Cover with foil, and set aside. Return pot to medium heat. Cook, uncovered, until liquid has reduced by about half (to a scant 2/3 cup), 8 to 10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low. Whisk in the crème fraîche and parsley. Ladle pan sauce over chicken and leeks. Serve immediately.
• Crème Fraîche
• Stir together cream and buttermilk in a medium bowl. Let stand at room temperature, partially covered, until thick, about 12 hours. Stir; cover, and refrigerate until ready to use, up to 2 weeks.

WINE-BRAISED CHICKEN WITH MUSHROOMS AND LEEKS

Steps:

• Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Season all over with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and the black pepper. Finely grate, pass through a press or mince 2 garlic cloves. Set aside half the grated garlic for finishing the dish. Rub the rest all over the chicken pieces. Set aside the chicken while preparing the other ingredients.
• In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, combine 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter. When the butter melts, add chicken in batches and cook until browned on both sides, 4 to 6 minutes per side. If the pan dries out, add a little more oil as needed. Transfer browned chicken to a plate.
• Add remaining tablespoon each oil and butter to the pan. Once the butter melts, add mushrooms and cook undisturbed until well browned on one side, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir and cook for 1 minute longer.
• Thinly slice 2 garlic cloves. Reduce heat to medium, and stir in sliced garlic, leeks and a large pinch each of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until leeks are tender and golden brown, 7 minutes. Add rosemary and wine to the pot and let simmer, scraping up the browned bits, until liquid reduces by half, about 1 minute.
• Nestle chicken, skin side up, into the pan and pour in any accumulated juices from the plate. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, covered, until chicken is cooked through, 25 to 35 minutes.
• Transfer chicken to a serving platter and tent with foil to keep warm. Pluck the rosemary sprigs from the pot. If the sauce looks thin, turn the heat to medium-high and let simmer until it thickens slightly, 2 to 5 minutes. Stir in the remaining grated garlic, the crème fraîche, chives and lemon zest. Taste sauce and add more salt if needed. Spoon sauce over the chicken and top with parsley, more lemon zest and a dollop of crème fraîche, if you like, and serve.

CREAMY CHICKEN & LEEKS

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan and fry the bacon for 2 mins. Add the chicken, then cook with the bacon for a further 2-3 mins, until the pieces begin to turn golden. Tip in the leeks and cook gently for 10 mins until wilted and tender.
• Stir through the flour and gradually add the stock, stirring constantly. Add the wholegrain mustard and crème fraîche, stir again, then simmer gently for 5 mins until the sauce is slightly thickened and creamy. Serve on top of baked jacket potatoes.