Ballottine of Chicken with Spinach & Goat’s Cheese, with Braised Lentils & Sauce Vierge

Name: Ballottine of Chicken with Spinach & Goat’s Cheese, with Braised Lentils & Sauce Vierge
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons lightly chopped tarragon leaves; salt and freshly ground black pepper; 1-2 bunches spinach, leaves only, with the stems removed, well-washed; 2 large firm, ripe tomatoes, peeled and deseeded; pinch of freshly grated nutmeg; 30 g unsalted butter or clarified butter; ½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves; 50 ml olive oil; 150 g fresh goat’s cheese, lightly crumbled; 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil; ½ small carrot, scrubbed and roughly sliced; ½ small brown onion, peeled; few drops tarragon or white wine vinegar; 2-3 tablespoons fresh light sourdough breadcrumbs; salt and freshly ground white pepper; 200 g pork caul, soaked in salted water for 30 minutes; 240 ml extra virgin olive oil; ½ clove garlic, crushed to a paste with a pinch of salt; 12 almond kernels, each chopped in 4 or 5 pieces and lightly toasted in the oven; 2 tablespoons finely shredded flat-leaf parsley; 1 egg, beaten; 6 x 250 g chicken Marylands, with the thigh bones and any blood vessels removed; 2 tablespoons lightly chopped chervil leaves; 120 g Puy-style lentils

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

French

By Damien Pignolet

Published 2005

About

A chicken ballottine is a poached or roasted, boned leg filled with a flavoursome stuffing. Ask your butcher or poultry supplier to keep as much skin as possible from the backbone attached to the leg and thigh [or Marylands, as they are known in Australia] - the extra skin helps to contain the stuffing. Prepare the stuffing and fill the ballottines between 8 and 24 hours in advance then chill them in the fridge so that they are firm and will hold together during the cooking. This is a varia

Ingredients

Oceania
Europe
Australia
France
Main course
Mediterranean

Ingredients

Method