Chicken waterzooï

Name: Chicken waterzooï
Yield: Feeds four
Cuisine: Belgium
Ingredients: sea salt and freshly ground black pepper; 125 ml (4 fl oz) thick cream; 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley, or sprigs of parsley; sea salt and freshly ground black pepper; ¼ tsp salt; 2 bay leaves; 3 egg yolks; ½ tsp black peppercorns; 3 medium leeks, cleaned and trimmed; 1.6 kg (3 lb) free range chicken; 2 celery stalks; 4 medium carrots, peeled

Preparation info

Feeds
four

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Old Food

By Jill Dupleix

Published 1998

About

Waterzooï (pronounced something like varterzoy) simply means to simmer in water. It’s an old Flemish dish that can be made of freshwater fish and eel but I love the creamy chicken version from Ghent in Belgium, a one-pot wonder of times past. Serve with a bowl of small boiled potatoes rolled in butter and parsley.

Ingredients

1.6 kg (3 lb) free range chicken
3 medium leeks, cleaned and trimmed
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Europe
Belgium
Gluten-free

Method

Wash and dry chicken. Place chicken in a large pot, and add enough cold water to just cover. Bring to the boil, skimming off any froth that rises to the surface. Slice leeks finely, and slice carrots and celery into 1 cm (½ in) slices. Add leeks, carrots, celery, bay leaves, salt and peppercorns, and simmer with a slight bubble for around 40 minutes, until chicken is tender and carrots are cook