Poached Chicken Roulade

This was one of our favorite summer dishes at La Colombe d’Or. To cook it at home takes a bit of time, but it is well worth the effort because the entire dish can be prepared and cooked in advance, stored in the refrigerator, and served at your leisure. At the restaurant we served it with haricots verts. I like it with roasted tomatoes. It works equally well with other summer vegetables.

Menu

Poached Chicken Roulade
Aïoli
Roasted plum tomatoes
Wine: Louis Jadot, Beaujolais Villages, 2009, lightly chilled
Dessert: Cherry Garcia Ice Cream

Recipe for Chicken Roulade

1 whole boneless, skinless chicken breast, pounded to even thickness and split in half
2 chicken legs with skin, boned and cut in half
2 chicken thighs with skin, boned and cut in half
Salt and pepper

Since the success of the dish depends on having the chicken breast pounded to an even thickness, it’s best to let your butcher do that. Cutting the boned legs and thighs in half tends to be messy. But, once tightly sealed in plastic wrap, the roulade is very forgiving. I had some odds and ends pieces left and, together with the bones, an onion, and some carrots, made some chicken broth.

Place 1 leg and 1 thigh on a board, skin side down. Season with salt and pepper. Place chicken breast on top. Roll the chicken tightly into a package. Tuck in the edges. Season the outside with salt and pepper. Place the roulade on a piece of plastic wrap and seal. Repeat with the other pieces.

Set the roulades on a steamer over boiling water. Poach, covered for 20 minutes. Remove and let cool in the plastic wrap. Then refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. When ready to serve, unwrap the roulades and slice them on the diagonal into ½ inch slices. Surround the chicken with roasted tomatoes or whatever vegetable you have cooked.

Instead of making aïoli from scratch, I decided to improvise. I crushed one clove of garlic in a mortar and incorporated the paste into ¼ cup of Kewpie* mayonnaise, together with some lemon juice. There was nothing subtle about this concoction: the garlic won out, which was too bad because it overwhelmed the juicy, tender chicken.

Fortunately I have one entire roulade left. I’ll probably serve it tonight and definitely with another condiment.


*Katagerie Japanese Market
224 E 59 St.