普羅旺斯的天空下 Living in Provence

主菜:
烤布列斯(Bresse)雞佐雞汁烤時蔬
(烤雞胸另佐 Isigny Sainte Mere的松露奶油)

2010聖誕餐的主菜, 我們終於買到了在法國最紅的布列斯(Bresse)雞, 我雖已久聞布列斯(Bresse)雞的大名但卻是第一次嘗到它的美味。
＊布列斯(Bresse)雞是一源自布列斯(Bresse)區域的一獨特品種的雞; 此品種的雞在放養的區域、範圍大小、養殖天數、重量甚至屠宰時間都有非常嚴格的規定; 也因為這些嚴格的規定, 此布列斯(Bresse)雞的傳統美味得已受到保護, 這也是法國典型的 terroir 的例子之一 。）

 

此布列斯雞可不是天天都可以買得到 (因為我們並不是有錢人...), 此雞每公斤售價約15-17歐元; 大多數的超市也無法在平日供應此雞, 除非接足了訂單。 2010的聖誕有幸的品嘗到它的美味; 它的雞味比一般放養雞更為濃郁, 雞胸的部味非常的鮮甜多汁 (我並無在雞胸內填塞奶油一起烤)。如圖所示, 我只用了海鹽、胡椒和少許的橄欖油均勻塗抹, 將布列斯雞叉上烤架 (spit-roast) 用 200度旋轉烤1小時 (因此雞重約1.9公斤), 在烤30分鐘後可以看到流出的雞油(非常澄清), 這時加切塊的綜合時蔬一起繼續烤。

在法國, 雞類料理常搭配鮮奶油配菇菌類的醬汁, 但這樣一隻優質的雞, 我想用最簡單的方式來品嘗它細緻的甜。所以將香檳醬裝於另一小碗, 自行斟酌添加; 雞胸的部位, 嘗過了原味的鮮甜後, 放上Isigny Sainte Mere的松露奶油一起享用。(Isigny Sainte Mere 的乳製品, 特別是法式酸奶 (crème fraîche), 奶油, 加味奶油, Camembert 起士都是我家冰箱的必備品。)

English Version:

Main:
Roast Bresse chicken & assorted vegetables roasted with the chicken juice
(Isigny Sainte Mere's truffled butter is also served with the chicken breast)

We managed to get on hold of 'the' most wanted chicken, "Poulet de Bresse" for our Christmas dinner.  I have heard a lot about the Poulet de Bresse (*Bresse chicken) but it was also my first time tasting this breed of chicken.
(*Poulet de Bresse is a particular breed of chicken originated from Bresse area and  there are strict standards and controls to rear this very valuable breed of chicken.)

You won't find this chicken on a daily grocery shopping list as it costs around 15-17 euro per kg and most of the stores don't carry this chicken as their 'basic' supply.  We certainly can't afford to have this precious chicken everyday....Nevertheless, I have to say we certainly enjoyed our poulet de Bresse;  the bird itself is full of flavour and the breast is succulent.  I simply spit-roasted this chicken at a preheated oven of 200C for 1 hour (the bird weights 1.9kg) and added some vegetables to the clear chicken fat during the last 30 minutes of cooking. 

French love to serve chicken with a creamy and mushroomy sauce, but with such a great quality of bird, I would like to be able to savour its sweetness in the most simple way.  So I only reserved a little bit of the champagne sauce on the side, and the truffled butter particularly for the breast.  (Another note on the dairy products of Isigny Sainte Mere:  It is by far the best dairy products I found here.  Their crème fraîche, butter, flavoured butter, and Camembert are the most common supplies in our fridge.)