French Chicken Ballotine with Mushroom Spinach stuffing, Carrot and Pumpkin puree, Pickled Radish, Watercress salad and Red Wine Jus
Author: 
Cuisine: French
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4
 
NOTES: If you are cooking this for the first time, allow yourself half a day to cruise through the steps at a nice pace. You will need Kitchen string and industrial grade clingwrap. Available at any cooking/culinary store.
Ingredients
  • BALLOTINE
  • 200g button mushrooms
  • 100g shitake mushrooms
  • 1 bunch of english spinach
  • 150g salted butter
  • 1 garlic clove, chopped
  • 1 shallot, chopped
  • 2 sprigs thyme
  • Salt and Pepper, to taste
  • 1 whole chicken, medium sized
  • Kitchen string and industrial grade clingwrap. Available at any cooking/culinary store.
  • ---
  • SIDES
  • 1 bunch watercress
  • 2 tbs Red wine vinegar
  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 4 big carrots
  • ½ Japanese pumpkin
  • 50g thickened cream
  • Bunch of baby radish
  • ¼ cup white sugar
  • ¼ cup white wine vinegar
  • ¼ cup water
  • 1 tsp pickling mix (peppercorns, coriander seeds, fennel seeds)
  • ---
  • SAUCE
  • Chicken bones
  • 1 white onion
  • 2 celery stalks, chopped
  • 2 carrots, chopped
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 cup chicken stock
Instructions
  1. First, prepare your ballotine mixture as this needs to be cool. Chopped mushrooms roughly. Heat pan with oil and fry off your garlic until fragrant. Add mushrooms and thyme. Cook for about 5 mins or until mushrooms are soft.
  2. Remove mushrooms from pan. Add a little bit more oil and the shallots until fragrant. Add spinach leaves and cook for 1 min until wilted. Add the cooked mushrooms back in and the knob of butter. Cook until flavours mix well, around 2-3 minutes. Set aside to cool.
  3. Chop the pumpkin and carrots into cubes and boil until extremely soft.
  4. Clean the radishes and cut off 2mm off the bottom so that they have a flat end to sit on a plate. Trim off the extra long beards so you only have 1 inch left for aesthetics.
  5. Preparing the pickling liquid by adding your sugar, white wine vinegar, water and pickling mix and bring to a boil. Let it simmer for 5 mins to infuse the flavours. Take off the heat and pour over your radishes. Let it cool in the fridge until ready for plating.
  6. Now time for the chicken. The first thing you need to do is remove the skin off the chicken in one piece. Place skin aside flat.
  7. Slice off both chicken breasts and keep the bones and thigh pieces aside. We won’t need the thigh pieces in this recipe so place them in the fridge. Chop the bones roughly and we will use this for a stock later.
  8. Tenderize the chicken breasts by placing clingwrap on top of it and using a tenderizer mallet.
  9. Using industrial clingwrap, lay 2 pieces (about 30cm long) down on a clean surface. Place your chicken skin down first, then the flat chicken breast and then the stuffing. Roll into a sausage shape and tie the ends tightly. Using kitchen string, wrap the body of the sausage just enough to hold its shape, do not tie it tightly!
  10. Bring a pot of water to the boil, add the two chicken ballotines to poach in a light simmer for about 25-30 minutes. Rest for 5 minutes and remove the wrap.
  11. To cook the jus, place the olive oil in the pan and add the fennel and coriander seeds. Cook for about 1 minute. Then add the chicken bones, onion, carrots and celery and caramelize (brown outer later skin). Cook on medium-high heat for 6-8 minutes.
  12. Once caramelized, deglaze the pan with the white wine. It will start to bubble and let the wine reduce until about ⅓rd of its original volume. Add the chicken stock after and cook for another 20-30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper accordingly.
  13. Using the watercress, mix the olive oil and white wine vinegar. Season with and salt and pepper.
  14. Heat a pan and melt the butter. Cook the chicken ballotines in butter and using a spoon, baste the ballotines until the skin is brown and cook on low-medium heat for about 6-8 minutes. Remove from pan and using a themometer, check that it meets 60 degrees. Rest for 5 minutes and only slice when everything else is on the plate. And now you’re ready to plate!
Recipe by Cookin.com.au at http://cookin.com.au/french-chicken-ballotine-with-mushroom-spinach-stuffing-carrot-and-pumpkin-puree-pickled-radish-and-watercress-salad-and-red-wine-jus/