The rural region of Brittany in the west of France is renowned for its high-quality corn-fed poultry. This take on French roast chicken gets an upgrade from our Executive Chef, Steve Allen, thanks to his decadent Café de Paris butter. While it’s synonymous with French cuisine, Café de Paris butter was actually created in the 1930s from the kitchen of the Café de Paris in Switzerland.
This recipe makes enough to serve 2.
Poulet Breton:
1 chicken (ask your butcher to remove the carcass and split in half)
1 tsp Maldon salt
2 sprigs thyme
2 sprigs rosemary
1 clove garlic, finely sliced
30g unsalted butter
250g new potatoes, washed and cut into quarters
30ml olive oil
Watercress to garnish
To make Café de Paris butter view full recipe.
Place the two halves of the chicken and the new potatoes in a deep roasting tray. Season with the Maldon salt, then top with the butter, herbs and garlic. Place 4tbsps water in the bottom of the tray and cover with tin foil. This needs to stay at room temperature for one hour.
While the chicken is coming to room temperature, make the Café de Paris butter.
Preheat your oven to 170˚C/150˚C fan.
Place the roasting tray with the chicken and potatoes in the oven for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, increase the temperature of the oven to 200˚C/180˚C and cook for 15 minutes. To check the chicken is cooked, place a skewer into the flesh – clear liquid should come out (if not, put back in the oven for a little longer).
Place the chicken and potatoes on a plate. Spoon a generous amount of Café de Paris butter over the chicken, and garnish with some fresh watercress.
