Poached Chicken with Rice

Ingredients

• 1 chicken (about 3 pounds)
• cut into 4 pieces
• 2 leeks
• trimmed and washed well
• 3 ribs celery
• 4 parsley sprigs
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 medium carrots
• scraped
• 1 medium onion
• peeled
• stuck with 2 cloves
• 6 peppercorns
• Salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1/2 cup half and half
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Instructions

1. Rinse the chicken well in cold water.
2. Place the chicken in a Dutch oven and barely cover with water.
3. Tie the leeks, celery, parsley and thyme sprigs with a string to form a bouquet garni.
4. Add it to the Dutch oven, then add the bay leaf, carrots, onion with cloves, peppercorns and salt.
5. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and cook until chicken is tender, about 45 minutes.
6. Skim the surface often to remove fat.
7. Remove the chicken from the broth and keep warm while preparing the sauce.
8. Reserve the broth.
9. Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the flour, and mix well with a wire whisk over low heat.
10. When blended, add 2 cups of the chicken broth, stir vigorously with the whisk.
11. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
12. Strain through a sieve and add cream, half and half, nutmeg, cayenne and lemon juice.
13. Bring to a boil.
14. Check for seasoning and simmer for 5 minutes.
15. Serve one chicken quarter per person.
16. Remove skin if desired, spoon a little of the sauce over the chicken and serve the remainder in a sauce boat.
17. Serve with rice and the poached vegetables.