Poule-au-pot Recipe                  

Serves 6

Stuffing               

90 g Chicken liver       

1 Tblsp Butter   

250 ml Breadcrumbs     

250 ml Full cream milk  

1 Garlic, finely chopped            

170 g Cured ham, chopped    

1/4 cup Flat leaf parsley, chopped            

1/4 tsp Cloves, grounded  

1/4 tsp Nutmeg, grounded          

1/4 tsp Cinnamon, grounded           

1/4 tsp Black pepper, grounded    

1 Egg, beaten                      

Chicken               

2.7  kg Whole free-range chicken 

6 litre Water         

1/2 tsp Oryx desert salt 

1 White onion, studded with 2 whole cloves                       

1 Bouquet garni               

10 Black peppercorns                  

1 stalk Celery, cut into small pieces    

1Cinnamon stick           

8 Leeks, cut into 10 cm pieces 

900g Baby carrots         

675g Turnips, quartered               

Oryx desert salt to taste                              

Method                          

Make the stuffing:
Chop chicken livers, discarding any membranes.                      
Melt butter in a small sauce pan over medium heat.                
Add livers and sauté, until they are just cooked, 1 to 2 minutes, set aside.            Soak breadcrumbs in milk and squeeze them dry, discarding milk.                       
Put crumbs in a bowl, add liver, ham, garlic, parsley and spices, mix with a wooden spoon.  
Taste and adjust seasoning, stir in egg and set aside.                        
Wipe the chicken inside and out with paper towels, then fill with stuffing and truss it.    
Put chicken in a stockpot and add water and salt.                           
Wrap onion, bouquet garni, peppercorns, celery and cinnamon stick in a cheesecloth and add to the pot.                       
Cover and bring slowly to a boil, skimming often.                         
Lower the heat and poach the chicken, uncovered for 30 minutes.              Continue a gentle simmer without the lid to reduce the broth.     
After 30 minutes, tie leeks in bundle with string and add to the pot with carrots and turnips.     
Cover chicken and vegetables with water and adjust seasoning if necessary.      Continue simmering until chicken and vegetables are tender, about 1 hour, adding hot water to cover if needed.                              

Lift the chicken from the broth and loosely cover with foil to keep warm. 
Transfer vegetables to a bowl using a slotted spoon, cover with foil to keep warm.                  
Reduce broth until concentrated, it should be about 2.5 liters.                    
Discard bag of aromatics                      
Transfer chicken to a board, discard trussing strings and carve chicken.
Pile the stuffing from the cavity on a large platter and set the chicken pieces on top.  
Arrange vegetables around the sides and spoon over the broth, serve immediately with delicious glasses of Culinaria Chenin Blanc or Culinaria Pinot Noir Chardonnay.