1/2/22 STUFFED CHICKEN WITH TRUFFLES POACHED IN BOUILLON AND TRUFFLE RISOTTO
Again this week I used a recipe from Mastering Simplicity by Christian Delouvrier (page 260). When the fresh truffles I got as a holiday present finally arrived by mail, I stored them each in separate pieces of paper towel in an airtight container with six eggs. Each day until I used the truffles, I replaced the paper towels and put the used paper towels in a container with uncooked arborio rice. I also got some truffle butter and truffle salt. The first step was to make the bouillon or chicken stock. This required simmering a whole chicken with tomatoes, carrots, and leeks for three hours, then straining out the liquid to use to simmer a second chicken with tomatoes, carrots, and leeks for another three hours. After straining again, I used the liquid to cook the chickens used for the dish. When the bouillon was ready, I prepared the chicken by stuffing it with cut truffles underneath the skin of the chickens and stuffing the cavity of the chicken with a vegetable mixture. My family does not like foie gras, so we left that out of the cavity. Then I trussed the bird and cooked it in the bouillon. I also made truffle risotto with corn from the arborio rice that had absorbed truffle flavor from the paper towels. The bouillon was served on the side, and it was rich and delicious and certainly worth all that effort.