Braised chicken with cabbage (Poulet braisé au chou vert)

This great winter dish is typical of French farmhouse cooking where a pot with vegetables, meat and broth cooks slowly.

• serves

  4

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  1:30 hour

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• ½ white cabbage
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 120 g smoked bacon, cut into 12 pieces
• 30 g butter
• 1 medium free-range chicken
• 4 medium-small carrots, peeled
• 4 potatoes (such as Desiree or Nicola)
• 8 juniper berries
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 sprigs thyme
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 50 ml dry white wine
• 50 ml strong chicken stock
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley

Instructions

Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Remove any damaged outer cabbage leaves and cut through the core into quarters. Cook the cabbage in the boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain well, then place in a bowl of iced water to stop the cooking process. Drain again.

Heat the oil in a wide heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Add the bacon and stir for a few minutes. Add the butter and chicken and cook until browned on both sides. Place the carrots, potatoes, juniper berries, bay leaf, thyme and cabbage around the chicken and season with pepper. Add the wine and stock. Bring to a simmer, cover with foil and a lid, reduce the heat to low and cook for 40 minutes. Turn the chicken over and cook for another 20 minutes.

Portion the chicken and serve with the vegetables and cooking broth. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Note

• This farmhouse dish is popular in my native region of Pays de Loire where many farmers grow their own vegetables and breed several types of poultry. The chicken can be replaced with guinea fowl or spatchcock.

Taste le Tour with Gabriel Gaté starts Saturday 7 July 2018 on SBS and then on SBS On Demand and finishes 29 July 2018. Visit the Taste le Tour website to catch-up on episodes, cook up his recipes or find out more about the series.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.