Madame Douazan’s Poule au Pot

This centuries-old dish remains one of the simplest and most traditional methods of cooking chicken. Its patron is King Henri IV, who, concerned at the general poverty of his people, declared that under his reign even the poorest family should be able to have poule au pot every Sunday. Many people still use this sixteenth-century recipe, and this is Madame Douazan’s version, which I first tried at her home, and which I always associate with her.