St. Bernadette – April 16 -Poule au Pot

St. Bernadette Soubirous was born on January 7, 1844, in Lourdes, France. She spent her life in this town in southern France, tending sheep. Throughout her life, Bernadette was plagued with poor health as she had asthma and other challenges to her health. Then, in 1858, Bernadette’s life changed. Between February 11 and July 16 of that year, our Blessed Mother appeared to the fourteen-year-old eighteen times. Our Lady instructed Bernadette that a chapel should be built on the spot of the visions. There, people were to come wash in and drink the water that had welled up from where St. Bernadette had begun to dig to build the chapel. That spot in Lourdes has become one of the most popular Marian shrines in the world. The Church confirmed the authenticity of the apparitions at Lourdes in 1862.  While France is known for high-end food, it is the simple “peasant” food that has a soul. This month’s recipe is Poule au Pot, literally “chicken in a pot,” a classic dish from the Hautes-Pyrenees area of France, where Lourdes is located.

Ingredients

1 whole - 2 1/2 to 3 pound chicken; 3 cups plain breadcrumbs; 2 cloves garlic; 2 tablespoons chopped parsley; 1 teaspoon nutmeg  salt and pepper to taste; 2 eggs, beaten; 1/2 cup light cream; 2 quarts chicken stock 1 quart water;  2 teaspoons thyme; 20 pepper corns; 2 bay leaves; 2 sweet onions, chopped; 4 carrots, chopped; 4 celery stalks, chopped.

Directions

1. Pat chicken dry and set aside 2. Mix the breadcrumbs, garlic, parsley, nutmeg, salt, pepper, and eggs in a large bowl. Add enough light cream to bind the ingredients together. 3. Fill the cavity of the chicken tightly with the stuffing and tie the legs together with string over the cavity opening so that it is closed off. 4. Add the chicken, water, chicken stock, thyme, peppercorns, and bay leaves to a soup pot and bring to a boil. 5. Reduce heat to low and simmer for one hour. 6. Add the chopped vegetables and simmer for another half hour. 7. Remove the chicken from the broth and set aside to cool. 8.  Cut into serving portions and arrange on a warm platter. 9. Remove the stuffing and arrange it neatly on the platter. 10. Strain the vegetables from the broth and arrange them on the platter along with the chicken and stuffing. Cover loosely with foil and keep warm in a low oven.  Serve the broth as a first course then present the platter along with whole grain mustard thinned with a little broth.