Burgundy chicken – poussin – with morels

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 2 poussins
• Salt and pepper, freshly ground
• 1 tbsp flour
• ½ stalk(s) leek
• 1 stalk(s) Celery
• 4 m.-large shallot(s)
• 4 m.-large mushrooms
• 200 ml wine, Chardonnay from Burgundy
• ½ liter chicken stock, possibly homemade
• 200 g morels (reduce the amount if using dried morels)
• 1 small bunch of parsley, flat
• 250 g cream
• ½ lemon(s), the juice
• 1 tbsp cream, whipped

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour

Poussin, finely braised in Chardonnay with morel cream

Halve the poussin chickens and partially bone them, i.e. remove the tip of the bone from the breast, separate the legs from the body and halve them at the joint. Season all parts with salt and pepper and coat with flour. Chop the leek, celery, 3 shallots and the mushrooms into large pieces. Heat butter with a little oil in a large pot and add the poultry skin side down. Allow to brown slightly over a low heat, turn over and gently sear the underside again. Add the vegetables and braise. Lightly dust everything with flour and deglaze with wine. Simmer with the lid on over a low heat for about 10 minutes. Remove the breasts, cover and keep warm and cook the legs for a further 10-15 minutes. Clean the morels very thoroughly, cutting off the stalks and washing them at least 3 times. With dried morels, let the sand sink to the bottom of the soaking water and sieve it through a cheesecloth three times to collect it; this will give the sauce an even more intense morel flavor. Finely dice 1 shallot and very finely chop the washed parsley. Remove the drumsticks from the pot, keep warm, pass the sauce through a fine sieve and reduce considerably. If desired, add the soaking water from the dried morels and allow it to reduce. Thicken with cream, season with salt and lemon juice. Blend the sauce and fold in the whipped cream. Foam the butter in a pan. Sauté the morels, season with salt and pepper. Add the diced shallots, the parsley and let it cook briefly. Drain the mixture on kitchen paper and add to the sauce. Drizzle the chicken pieces with the sauce. We like to serve it with fine pasta. To drink, of course, there will be a strong Chardonnay from Burgundy.