serves
4
prep
15 minutes
cook
1:15 hour
difficulty
Easy
serves
4
people
preparation
15
minutes
cooking
1:15
hour
difficulty
Easy
level
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 onions, finely sliced
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 4 thyme stems
- 50 g smoked bacon, diced
- salt and pepper
- 500 g potatoes
- 1.6 kg whole Bresse chicken
- 1 litre (4 cups) chicken stock
- 60 g butter
- 2 tbsp yellow wine (vin jaune)
- 4 fresh bay leaves
Dough
- 1 kg plain flour
- 400 ml warm water
Instructions
Preheat oven to 300°C. To prepare the dough, mix ingredients well. Turn out onto a floured surface. Knead and roll to 1 m x 20 cm rectangle. Set aside.
Heat a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add olive oil, then onion, 1 bay leaf, 2 thyme stems, bacon, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for 20 minutes or until onions are softened.
Meanwhile, slice the potatoes into 3 mm slices. Season with 2 generous pinches of salt and pepper. Mix well.
Place the onion mixture in a large clay pot. Add the potato, then the whole chicken (breast side up). Season the chicken with more salt and pepper.
Pour the chicken stock over the chicken, and add the remaining bay leaf and thyme. Close the lid, then seal with dough so the heat cannot escape.
Place the pot in the oven and cook for 10 minutes, then cover the dough with foil so it doesn’t burn. Reduce oven to 250°C and cook for a further 35 minutes.
Crack the crisp dough to open the lid. Remove the chicken from the pot. Strain the liquid into a saucepan and cook over high heat for 5 minutes or until slightly reduced.
Meanwhile, remove the chicken breasts from the bone. Slice each breast into three pieces. Remove the legs from the body.
Add butter to the saucepan with the cooking liquid and reduce heat to medium. Whisk until butter has dissolved. Add yellow wine and cook for a further 1 minute.
Spoon potato onto four serving plates. Place the chicken pieces on top and drizzle with sauce. Garnish with fresh bay leaves and serve.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
