0 Roast Chicken a la Provencale

I knew I had been away from blogging my recipes for few months--will write my other blog to explain why I am absent for little long time and leave my readers wondered if I am alive or not. yeaaaa, I am alive.

Here is the recipe from kinda of old cookbook (published in 1972) that I picked up from one of boxes--found it in storage. Read all recipes and some vintage recipes look same to me as present modern recipes. Here is my recipe selection for today. I assumed that this recipe need some attention regarding little technique in broiling and roasting and you might want to change a little with roasting or whatever you can do. There are many good recipes for Chicken a la Provencale--you can Google it up.

Poularde Rotie a la Provencale

Roast Chicken a la Provencale

Recipe Source: Charles Virion's French Country Cookbook

Serves 8

2 cups white stock or canned chicken consomme

1 cup cream sherry

Bouquet garni: 2 bay leaves, 2 basil leaves, and 8 sprig fresh parsley,

All tied together in a cheesecloth bag

1/4 teaspoons thyme

6 small white onions, sliced

2 green peppers, chopped

9 tablespoons sweet butter

1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced

4 cups tomato puree

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 cloves garlic, minced

20 black olives, quartered

1 5- to 6-pound roasting chicken, cut into pieces

(reserve neck, liver, gizzard, and wing tips for stock)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup cognac

4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Garnishes: saffron rice and green peas

1. Put the white stock or consomme, sherry, bouquet garni, and thyme into a saucepan and simmer until reduced by half. Set aside.
2. Sautee the onions and green peppers together in 3 tablespoons of the butter, just until tender. Set aside.
3. Saute the mushrooms in 2 more tablespoons of the butter until their water is completely evaporated. Do not burn the mushrooms, as they become bitter when scorched.
4. Combine the reduced stock, onions, peppers, mushrooms, tomato puree, tomato paste, garlic, and olives in a saucepan and set it aside.
5. In a flat roasting pan, large enough to place the chicken pieces side by side, set the chicken, which has been salted and peppered and brushed all over with the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter, melted. Placed in a preheated broiled and broil until the chicken will complete cooking with the sauce. Remove chicken from broiler.
6. Pour the cognac over the chicken and ignite it. Baste the meat with the burning cognac until the flames die out. Strain the juices and add to the ingredients in the saucepan.
7. Heat the sauce and taste it for seasoning. Add some salt and pepper if necessary and distribute the sauce evely over the pieces of chicken so that it is well covered by it.
8. Cover the roasting pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil to prevent the chicken from getting dry. Place the roasting pan in a 300 F oven for 1 1/4 hours.
9. Skim the excess fat from the top of the sauce and place the chicken pieces on a warm platter. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and sprinkle the parsley on top. As a garnish, Saffron Rice can be placed in a ring around the chicken. Green peas or another green vegetable can also serve as an accompaniment.