What I most appreciate about classic French cooking, is that once the basic techniques are understood, they can be applied to virtually any preparation. This recipe I discovered in one of my favorite Country-French cookbooks, A Kitchen in France: A Year of Cooking in My Farmhouse, by Mimi Thorisson. The original recipe calls for roasting an entire bird; but I took the liberty of adjusting the recipe to use leg quarters for individual service, added a combination of fines herbes, and made a pan sauce with a velouté base and pan drippings from the roasting process.

Crème Fraîche: Although you can use sour cream in a pinch, I highly recommend using crème fraîche, which has a smoother, richer texture and tolerates the heat of the oven better. You can also make your own! Crème fraîche is ultra-easy to make: 1 pint heavy cream, 2 tablespoons cultured buttermilk. Combine buttermilk and heavy cream in a non-reactive container. Cover and allow to rest at room temperature until thickened, about 12 hours. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Roasted Chicken with Crème Fraîche, Fines Herbes & Creamy Sauce à la Poêle

4 skin-on, bone-in chicken leg quarters
1 cup crème fraîche
2 shallots, finely minced
4 garlic cloves, finely minced
1/2 cup finely minced curly parsley, plus two tablespoons for garnish
2 tablespoons finely minced tarragon
2 tablespoons minced chives
1 tablespoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

For the Pan Sauce:

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup pan drippings

• Pre-heat oven to 375˚F and position a rack in the top 1/3 of the oven. Cover a 1/2 sheet pan with foil, set aside.

• Trim the chicken legs of excess fat and skin. Place them in a large mixing bowl.

• In a small bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup of the crème fraîche, shallots, garlic, herbs, and salt and pepper. Pour the cream mixture over the legs, and by hand, rub all over the chicken legs. Leave a thick layer of the herbed cream on the chicken, and transfer to the prepared sheet pan. Sprinkle the chicken with a bit more kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

• Place the sheet pan in the pre-heated oven and bake the chicken for 35 – 40 minutes until the chicken is well-browned.

• Meanwhile, prepare the vèloute sauce. In a small saucepan, heat the butter until melted, add the flour, and whisk together to make a paste. Cook for 1 minute over medium heat. Add the chicken stock and whisk to combine. It should thicken slightly. Remove from the heat and set aside.

• When the chicken is done, remove from the oven. Carefully pour off the fat, juice, and any caramelized shallots, garlic and herbs from the sheet pan into the prepared vèloute sauce. Cover the chicken with a piece of foil to rest and keep warm. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of crème fraîche to the sauce and whisk all to combine. Taste, and season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, if necessary. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of minced parsley.

• Serve the chicken draped with the cream sauce.

Serves 4

© 2021, Epicurean Exchange. All rights reserved