Roasted Chicken with Cider Cream Sauce
Perfect for your Sunday meal, this dish features tender slow-cooked chicken, winter vegetables from the market, and a rich and delicious cider cream-sauce.
Part 1 - Mise-en-Place
Ingredients
Six fresh farm-raised chicken legs (drumstick and thighs)
3 tablespoons organic butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon Herbes de Provence
Sea salt & pepper
8 slender carrots, scrubbed with tops on.
4 medium or small leeks, split lengthwise and rinsed well.
6 - 8 turnips
6-10 baby zucchinis
12 small potatoes - thin skin so that there is no need to peel
4 medium shallots
For the sauce:
2 cups fermented apple-cider
1 cup heavy cream
PART 2 - Method
Pat chicken legs dry, before sprinkling with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil and butter in a sauteuse and brown the skin-on chicken legs until evenly golden. Arrange potatoes around the chicken parts drizzle with a small amount of oil and place in a 375F / 190C oven for 45 minutes.
Meanwhile in a layered steamer, arrange the washed winter vegetables and steam until done. The carrots and turnips take the longest and the zucchini will only take a few minutes. I always arrange them in groups in the steamer basket so that I can remove them as they are cooked through. Set the veggies aside on a platter. You will finish them in butter just before serving.
Once the chicken is cooked, remove the potatoes and set aside with the other vegetables. Place the chicken legs on a serving dish so that you can make the sauce from the pan juices.
PART 3 - finish and plating
Put the pan back on the heat and add the chopped shallots, then deglaze the pan with the cider. Cook for 5 minutes at a low boil to remove the bits and reduce the cider. Finish by adding in the cream and Herbes de Provence. Reduce to thicken as needed.
For plating, I like to layer the vegetables around the chicken before pouring over the sauce.
All of the perfectly steamed vegetables are tossed in a hot pan with butter and seasoned with salt and pepper before plating with the chicken.
Be sure to have a crusty baguette on hand to enjoy the sauce!
This post was a collaboration with Samsung Home Appliances who provided this stunning French-door style refrigerator to help make preparing a Sunday family meal even more effortless. Read my blog post HERE to learn more!
Learn to make dishes like this at Rabbit Hill Workshops
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