I’ve made this dish more times than I can count, and it’s become a family favorite that’s also special enough for a full-fledged dinner party. It tastes rich and luxurious, but it’s quick and nearly foolproof. The recipe includes a quick homemade stock, but if you’re short on time (or patience), you can substitute a good low-salt chicken stock and still make a delicious dish.
The secret ingredient here is the Franco-Indian spice blend Vadouvan, which adds a mysteriously warm, dark and smoky flavor to the dish. You can find the recipe for Vadouvan in my post here, for a light squash soup flavored with Vadouvan here, and for my favorite cauliflower soup with Vadouvan here. Like the soups, this dish is also delicious without the spice blend, but the Vadouvan really makes it memorable. Again, a viable shortcut is to buy a prepared Vadouvan from a specialty spice store such as Kalustyan’s, but the half hour or so of active time it takes to make a batch of your own is well worth it, particularly since you can keep the ample leftovers in your freezer for months.
Recipe
(Adapted from Paul Grimes’ Fricassee of Game Hen with Creamy Leeks and Vadoum, Gourmet Magazine, September, 2008. Serves six.)
Ingredients
For stock:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 cups cold water
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
1 celery rib, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3 large thyme sprigs
1 whole clove
1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf
1/8 teaspoon black peppercorns
For fricassee:
2 small chickens (less than 3 pounds each, if possible), quartered, backbones and wing tips removed with kitchen shears
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 leeks (about 3 pounds), greens reserved for stock
1/2 cup dry white wine
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup Vadouvan
Instructions
Prepare the Leeks.
Leeks are notoriously dirty and often have grit hiding deep in their leaves, so it’s important to wash them thoroughly. First, trim off the bushy tops of the leeks and then separate their dark green and white/light green parts. The whites go directly into the dish, and the dark greens will be used for the stock.
Halve the leeks lengthwise, and then chop in about 1 inch pieces, keeping the whites and greens separate. Rather than rinsing (which might not dislodge dirt deep inside), float the leek pieces in a large bowl of water and swish them around with your hand. The dirt and grit will fall to the bottom of the bowl. Scoop the leeks out of the bowl and set them aside, and then drain the water, rinse the bowl, and repeat. If there’s any dirt in the bowl this time, wash them again. Reserve about 3 cups of the greens for the stock.
Make the Stock.
Shortcut: Using Prepared Stock. This chicken and leek stock comes together pretty quickly and makes a delicious base for the sauce. As a shortcut, though, it is possible to use a good commercial chicken stock and still get good results. Start with 4 cups of low salt or unsalted chicken broth, boil it until it is reduced to two cups and proceed with the recipe for the fricassee below. It is very important to use low salt or, preferably, unsalted stock. Regular chicken stock will make the dish unbearably salty. Even if you use low salt stock, do not add any salt to the sauce until you finish it.
1. Heat oil in a heavy medium pot over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Cook backbones and wing tips until well browned on all sides.
2. Add water and bring to a boil, skimming froth. Add remaining ingredients and boil, uncovered, 30 minutes.
3. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean saucepan, pressing on and then discarding solids. Boil stock until reduced to about 2 cups.
Make the Fricasee.
1. Pat the chicken parts dry and lightly season with salt and pepper (about 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.). Heat oil in a large, heavy skillet or saute pan over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Brown chicken in batches (without crowding), turning once, about 8 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate.
2. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet, then cook leeks with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (omit if using commercial stock unless it’s completely unsalted) and 1/4 teaspoon pepper over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally and scraping up brown bits, until leeks begin to soften, about 5 minutes.
3. Add wine and bring to a boil. Stir in stock, cream, and Vadouvan. Nestle the chicken, skin sides up, into leeks. (Unless you have a very large skillet, you’ll need to split the dish into two pans at this point. Any skillet or saute pan will do.) Cover (with a lid, parchment round or foil) and gently simmer for 15 minutes. Remove cover and simmer for about 15 minutes more, or until chicken is tender and cooked through. Transfer chicken to a platter, adjust the seasoning and simmer the sauce to thicken slightly if desired.
This is a great make-ahead dish as it can be made a day in advance, stored in the refrigerator and gently reheated on the stove before serving. I like to serve it with rice and a fresh green vegetable. I’ve pictured it above with a deliciously nutty flavored Chinese black rice (available at the remarkable Kalustyans and other specialty food stores), and I think American wild rice and basmati rice would also be nice on the side. For wine, I think a dry Riesling or Gewurtztraminer pair well.
