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Chicken Divan
[This] dish was originally made by folding a half cup
of hollandaise into the béchamel sauce. Given that
hollandaise is basically butter emulsified with egg yolks,
that combination seems unnecessarily rich for today,
especially since egg yolks alone give a similar substance
to the sauce. I use both white and dark meat here, but, as
in the original recipe, you may want to use only the
breast.
Makes 6 servings
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1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
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2 tablespoons salt
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3 tablespoons unsalted butter
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3 tablespoons flour
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2 cups milk
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1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
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3 tablespoons sherry
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1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
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1-1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
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1 (4- to 5-pound) cooked chicken
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1 large bunch broccoli, tops only, cut or broken into
very small florets
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1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, approximately
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2 egg yolks
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1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped
Place the chicken in a large pot. Cover it with cold tap
water. Add the peppercorns and salt. Cover the pot, put it
over high heat, and bring the water to a boil. As soon as
the pot boils – you can listen, or watch for steam to
escape from under the lid – turn off the heat and let
stand for 3 hours. Uncover the pot. Remove the chicken.
Reserve the broth for another use – it may be kept for
several days in the refrigerator, or for several months in
the freezer.
Meanwhile, make a white sauce: In a small to medium
saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the
flour with a wire whisk. Let bubble for about 2 minutes.
Remove from the heat, and let the bubbling stop. Beat in
the milk all at once. Return the pot to the heat, and,
stirring constantly with the whisk, bring the mixture to a
boil, at which point it should be thickened and smooth.
Stir in the nutmeg, sherry, and Worcestershire sauce.
Simmer another minute. Stir in the lemon juice. Cover and
keep hot over a very low flame.
Remove the skin of the chicken and carve the breast, leg,
and thigh meat into neat slices. Whatever you cannot slice
neatly, save for another purpose.
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a rolling boil.
Cook the broccoli until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain the
broccoli in a colander. Then, arrange it in one layer in a
deep heatproof serving platter, or in a shallow casserole
or gratin dish.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Sprinkle the broccoli with about half the grated cheese.
Arrange the chicken meat on top of the broccoli.
Whisk the egg yolks into the white sauce. Fold in the
whipped cream. Pour the sauce over the chicken and
broccoli.
Sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese.
Place in a preheated oven for about 15 minutes, to heat
through.
For a final glazing, place the casserole about 5 inches
below the broiler heat source, and cook until tinged with
brown, about 3 minutes.
Recipe from
ARTHUR SCHWARTZ’S NEW YORK CITY FOOD: An Opinionated
History and More Than 100 Legendary Recipes By
Arthur Schwartz, Photographs by Chris Callis (Stewart,
Tabori & Chang; November 2004; $45.00/Hardcover; ISBN:
1-58479-397-X). |
