Cider chicken with fried apples and mustard cream sauce

This dish symbolises my dream of strolling through an apple orchard in Normandy one day – this must surely be one of the most sensory seasonal delights imaginable. In the meantime, I enthusiastically prepare this Norman dish with our own country’s apples and the newgeneration ciders made locally.

4–6

Serves Preparation time 4 minutes Cooking time 80 minutes

YOU NEED

• 60 g butter

• 8–12 chicken thighs and legs (free-range, of course)

• 100 g pancetta, diced

• 2 onions, finely chopped

• 1 bottle (330 ml) cider

• 3 green apples, peeled and sliced into fat wedges

• 2 teaspoons (10 ml) caster sugar

• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) lemon juice

• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) Dijon mustard

• 1 cup (250 ml) cream

• the classic fines herbes – parsley, tarragon, chives and chervil – for garnishing (or use finely chopped fresh rosemary)

THIS IS HOW

Heat the oven to 170 ºC. Melt half the butter over a moderate heat in a heatproof oven dish with a lid. Thoroughly season the chicken with salt and pepper and brown it for about 2 minutes on each side. Remove and set it aside. Now add the pancetta and onion and lightly fry until golden brown and the onion is soft and transparent – about 8 minutes. Stir occasionally. Return the chicken pieces to the oven dish, add the cider, heat it to boiling point and bake in the oven for about an hour with the lid on until cooked.

About 15 minutes before the chicken is cooked, melt the remaining butter in a pan until it sizzles. Add the apple wedges and caster sugar and fry them until beautifully golden brown – the apple pieces should retain their shape. Stir in the lemon juice.

Remove the dish containing the chicken from the oven, use a slotted spoon to transfer the chicken to an oven-proof serving dish. Add the apples and return it to the oven to keep warm while you make the sauce.

Place the oven dish containing the pan juices on a stove plate until it boils. Lower the heat, stir occasionally until it has reduced by one third. Stir in the mustard and cream and simmer the mixture until the sauce covers the back of a spoon. Transfer it to the serving dish containing the chicken and apple, sprinkle with the fresh herbs and serve. >