Farmhouse chicken stew with champagne and Ribeiro Frio boleto mushrooms

Verdelho or Medium Dry Madeira Wine

Serves 4

Preparation time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

Chicken

2  2 Free range chickens (2.5 kg)

100 gr  butter

200 gr  chopped onion

40 gr  boleto mushrooms

500 ml champagne

1000 ml single cream

Kebab of seasonal vegetables:

250 gr early carrots or

250 gr baby turnip or

350 gr shallots or

350 gr  roast potatoes with garlic and savoury or

300 gr baby corn cobs

Bread dough (makes 500g)

400 gr flour

150 gr cold water

50 gr coarse salt

1 egg for glaze

Method:

Cut the two raw chickens into two breasts and four joints (ask the butcher to do this) with only the upper bones remaining. Season with salt and pepper and fry in butter until the pieces are golden but still half raw. Remove the chicken pieces and in the same frying pan add the chopped onion and thinly sliced mushrooms and cook them in the champagne until it evaporates. Then add the cream and the chicken legs. Stew for 45 minutes, then add the breasts and stew again for a further 15 minutes, still on a low heat to avoid burning. Put the chicken pieces in an oven dish, cover with the sauce and put on the lid. To seal the dish make a bread dough to go round the edge of the lid. Cook in the oven for 20 minutes at 190º. Serve with vegetable kebabs. 

Chef Benoît Sinthon
Restaurant Il Gallo d’Oro

Hotel The Cliff Bay