Recipe: Jacques's Poached Chicken and Rice (Jacque Pepin recipe)

JACQUES'S POACHED CHICKEN

"Easy, simple and very tasty way to poach chicken for chicken salad or chicken pot pie."

4 pounds roasting chicken, giblets and fat removed
4 medium carrots, peeled and trimmed
1 whole celery heart, trimmed and sliced lengthwise
2 large leeks, trimmed, cleaned, sliced lengthwise
1 bouquet garni
3/4 pound large pearl onions, peeled and trimmed
6 whole cloves
1 tablespoon salt
1 cup white wine
10 cups lukewarm water
3/4 pound small, whole mushrooms
Hot cooked rice (for serving)

Rinse the chicken and place it in the stockpot. Tie the carrots, celery heart, and leek halves together with twine into a tight bundle and put in the pot, along with the bouquet garni. Stud 2 of the pearl onions with the whole cloves, and toss all the onions into the pot. Add the salt, wine, and 10 cups lukewarm water.

Set the colander on top of the chicken, upside down, to hold it and the vegetables down so they are covered with the liquid. Heat rapidly to a boil, lower the heat to maintain a gentle boil, and cook for 20 minutes.

Remove the colander and add the mushrooms. Immediately raise the heat to bring the broth to a strong boil, cover the pot closely with the lid, and turn off the heat. Let sit for 45 minutes to an hour.

When ready to serve, make a bed of cooked white rice on the serving platter.

Lift the chicken out of the pot with a large strainer and place it, breast up, on a cutting board. Cutting up the chicken is not hard, because the cooked pieces will separate easily from the carcass and the skin will peel off. First, pull the leg-thigh sections from the carcass at the tight joint, then separate the thighs from the drumsticks by cutting through at the joint. Slice off the wings and remove the tips. Peel the skin off the entire breast, lift off each breast half from the carcass in one piece, then cut neatly in two. Save all the small bones and cartilage for further cooking in the broth. Discard the skin and bouquet garni. Arrange all the chicken pieces on top of the rice.

Fish the vegetable bundle out of the broth. Cut the twine and arrange the carrots, celery, and leeks around the rim of the platter. Scoop out the onions and mushrooms and scatter around the chicken. Spoon a cup or so of broth over the chicken pieces and garnish the platter with sprigs of fresh parsley.

Serve portions of chicken, vegetables, and rice on dinner plates, with cups of broth at each place and crocks of mustard, salt, and cornichons to be passed.

Makes 4 servings
Adapted from source: Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home