1 day ago
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Rooted in French tradition, this menu celebrates the elegance of seasonal cooking. The twice-baked comté soufflé, light and delicately cheesy, is a timeless favourite that’s simple to prepare yet sure to impress. It’s followed by a roast capon, the festive bird of choice in France, prized for its tender, delicious meat, and paired with chestnuts and pommes Anna. These classic recipes are not just reserved for Christmas tables, but I think the combination captures the spirit of comfort and indulgence that defines traditional French gastronomy.
Chapon rôti, chestnuts, pommes Anna
Prep 5 min
Cook 4 hr 50 min
Set overnight
Serves 8
For the chapon
1 capon (3-3½kg), with liver and gizzard, or 1 extra-large chicken
Salt and black pepper
1 black truffle
1 tbsp olive oil
1½kg fresh chestnuts, or 450g peeled and cooked chestnuts
50g butter
2 celery sticks
1.4 litres chicken stock
50g chervil, or parsley
For the pommes Anna
300g butter, or 250g clarified butter or ghee, plus extra for brushing
8 large floury potatoes, such as maris piper,
Salt and black pepper
The day before, put the butter for the potatoes into a cold pan and slowly bring to a boil, skimming off the froth that comes to the top and leaving the milk solids to sink to the bottom. The clear butter you’re left with is what you want. Transfer the clarified butter to a large bowl.
Line a flat-sided nonstick pan or oven dish with greaseproof paper and heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4. Peel and thinly slice the potatoes to about 1mm thick, ideally on a mandoline, adding the sliced potatoes to the butter bowl as you go. Season generously and mix to coat; the butter might start to set, so keep the bowl somewhere warm-ish; so long as each slice is coated with butter, hard or soft, you’ll be OK.
Start layering the potatoes in the lined pan until it’s filled to the top, then cover with more paper and put a heavy pan on top to weigh down the potatoes. Bake for an hour and a half, then check – if a knife goes through the potatoes without resistance, they’re ready. Remove, leave to cool, then put in the fridge overnight to set.
The next day, heat the oven to 160C (140C fan)/325F/gas 3. Remove the liver and gizzard from the capon, rinse the cavity and pat dry. Generously season the inside of the bird, then put the truffle in the cavity, along with the liver and gizzard. Truss the bird securely, then rub the skin all over with oil and season again.
Put the capon breast-side up in a roasting pan and roast for about two and a half hours, basting several times.
Meanwhile, use a small, sharp knife to slit open the rounded side of each chestnut shell. Drop them into a large pan of boiling salted water, cook for a few minutes, then drain and peel while they’re still warm; make sure you remove both the outer shell and thin inner skin.
Melt the butter in a large skillet, add the peeled chestnuts, and stir gently with a wooden spoon to coat. Add the celery ribs, then pour in the stock, cover the pan and leave to simmer gently, without stirring, for 20 minutes. Drain, then remove and discardthe celery.
Meanwhile, finish the pommes Anna. Turn out the potatoes on to a baking tray and cook in a 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7 oven for 20–30 minutes, until golden and evenly crisp all over, brushing with more melted clarified butter to help things along.
Five minutes before the capon is ready, add the chestnuts to the roasting pan so they can absorb some of the cooking juices. When the capon is cooked, take the pan out of the oven and transfer the bird to a warm platter. Arrange the chestnuts on a separate dish, and sprinkle them with the chopped chervil. Remove the truffle, liver and gizzards from the cavity of the bird., slice the truffle thinly and dice the liver and gizzards, then scatter all of them over the chestnuts.
Transfer the pommes Anna to a platter, sprinkle with salt, then cut into wedges and serve. Carve the capon on a board, then arrange the slices neatly on the platter. Deglaze the roasting pan with 60ml water or stock, scraping up any browned bits, then simmer briefly. Pour the resulting sauce into a sauceboat and serve alongside the capon with the pommes Anna.
Twice-baked soufflé au vieux comté, salade verte
Not essential, but I think this soufflé is best when paired with a crisp green salad.
Prep 15 min
Cook 1 hr 10 min
Serves 4For the cheese base
20g butter
20g plain flour
100g milk
Nutmeg, grated
100g comté, grated
Salt and black pepper
3 egg yolks
40g double cream
15g dijon mustard
For the leek sauce
50g butter
1 leek, washed and finely sliced
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely grated
200g double cream
80g camembert
For the soufflés
Softened butter
200g egg white
Lemon juice
210g cheese base (see above)
For the green salad
30g dijon mustard
30ml white-wine vinegar
½ small garlic clove, grated on a Microplane
180ml rapeseed oil
Juice of ¼ lemon
Lettuce leaves of your choice, washed, dried and left whole
10g diced shallot
5g chopped chives
Melt the butter for the cheese base in a saucepan on a medium heat, then add the flour and cook for a few minutes. Whisk in the milk in stages, then bring to a boil, still whisking. Turn down the heat and simmer for two minutes.
Grate in some nutmeg, then mix in the cheese and season. Transfer to a blender, and add the egg yolks one by one, blending until smooth after each addition. Add the cream and mustard, and blend briefly to combine. (If you are making a bigger batch, weigh the sauce into 210g bags, so they’re ready to go for a four-portion soufflé. Drop the bag into hot water to warm up when required.)
The cheesy leek sauce can be made ahead of time, too. Melt the butter for the leek sauce in a saucepan on a low-medium heat, then saute the leek and garlic until completely soft but without colour. Add the cream and cheese, season, then leave to bubble for a couple of minutes.
Rub four ramekins generously with softened butter and heat the oven to 170C (150C fan)/300F/gas 3½. Using an electric whisk or stand mixer, beat the egg whites and a few drops of lemon juice to stiff peaks. Add a third of the egg whites to the warm cheese base, beating to lighten the mix, then gently fold in the remaining egg whites.
Spoon the soufflé mix into the buttered moulds and tap on a work surface to flatten the tops. Put in a bain-marie and bake for 12-16 minutes; if you are using larger moulds, it may take up to 20 minutes. Once cooked, the tops will be golden brown and the soufflés will visibly come away from the sides of the moulds with minimal wobble. Remove the soufflés, then turn up the oven to 240C (220C fan)/475F/gas 9.
Make the dressing: whisk the mustard, vinegar and garlic in a bowl, then slowly beat in the oil. Season and add the lemon juice. Dress the leaves with plenty of dressing, add the diced shallots and toss with your hands until every leaf is evenly coated. Put in a large bowl and sprinkle with the chives.
Turn out the cooked soufflés on to trays. They will now sit happily at room temperature, ready to be finished when you’re ready to eat. Pour the cheesy leek sauce over the soufflés and return to the oven for five minutes, until gratinated all over.
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Matthew Ryle is chef/partner at Maison François and Cafe François, both in London.
