Poulet Danoise from Cooking and the Crown
“Queen Mary certainly knew her onions. In fact, Tschumi (who was rather enamoured with her) described her as ‘the last of the great connoisseurs of food in England.’ Yet she also disliked ‘extravagance of any kind and it displeased her if food at Marlborough House was ever wasted.’ Not unlike her granddaughter and great grandson. This dish was her favourite. Tschumi suggests making your own ‘nouilles’ or noodles, but fresh tagliatelle will do fine, or even decent-quality packet stuff.” Tom Parker Bowles, author of Cooking and the Crown
Serves 4
1 large chicken, about 1.75kg
1 large onion, sliced
2 carrots, roughly chopped
1 bay leaf
300ml chicken stock (made with a
decent stock cube is fine)
300ml double cream
juice of ½ lemon
1 packet of fresh tagliatelle (or other decent-quality dried pasta)
A little butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the flavoured butter
200g butter, softened
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Juice of 1 lemon
Search for chicken, onions, carrots, cream and other ingredients on Wylde Market.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.
Flavour the butter by mixing it with the parsley and lemon juice, then put half inside the cavity of the chicken and smear the other half all over the outside of the bird. Season well with salt and pepper.
Put the chicken in a large, heavy casserole pot, along with the onion, carrots and bay leaf. Roast for about 1 hour 45 minutes, or until the juices run clear when you pierce the thickest part with the tip of a knife. Make sure it doesn’t brown too much, so cover with foil if it is browning too quickly.
Take the chicken out and set aside to rest. Strain the pot juices through a sieve, skim off most of the fat, then simmer with the stock and cream to reduce. Season with lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions, then drain and toss with a little butter. Place on a serving platter.
Carve the chicken and lay on top of the noodles, then cover with the sauce and serve very hot.
