A new family favorite, adapted from the 1977 translation of Paul Bocuse's 1976 cookbook "Paul Bocuse's French Cooking" that I scored for $10 at a thrift store.
truffle salt (optional)and/or swap out some of the butter
Chicken and Vegetables
3lbwhole organic chicken
8ozharicot vert, cut to ~2 inch pieces
1turnip, cut into sticks
8ozcarrots, cut in sticks
5pearl onions (and/or shallots, chunked to pearl onion size)or cippolini next time
8ozgreen peas, shelled
salt and pepper to taste
8tbspsalted butter, cut into pieces
dijon mustard, optionalcondiment
Instructions
Make the Pastry Crust
At least an hour before, follow Melissa Clark's recipe, adding truffle salt to give it some extra flavor. Or, swap out some of the butter for truffle butter (at least 3 tbsp worth). Allow to rest/chill.
Prepare Chicken & Vegetables
Allow the chicken to sit at room temperature for a bit (especially if you think it may have been frozen, and possibly still frozen at it's core!) Heat oven to 425. Wash and chop the vegetables and keep aside. Remove and discard any innards, and truss the chicken. Season with salt and fresh black pepper.
Place the trussed chicken in the dutch oven, and surround the chicken with the vegetables. Season vegetables with more salt and pepper. Drop the butter all around the pot, on the vegetables and chicken.
On a piece of parchment paper (to ease moving it later!!), roll out the chilled pastry dough into the shape of your pot, and less than 1/4 inch thick. It should be at least an inch bigger than the pot in order to crimp it onto the pot to stay in place. Carefully place it across the pot. Crimp the edges to ensure the pastry stays put.
Place the pot in the oven and allow to cook for ~10 minutes then cover it with foil to prevent the pastry from overcooking. Cook for another 80 minutes, then allow sit in the still-warm oven for 10 minutes.
Serve
Set the table, and have dijon mustard, salt and pepper for additional seasoning. Sprinkle the top with truffle salt (if not already in the crust) and bring the whole pot to the table. There is a proper, ritualistic way to let the steam out and then serve it, but you can also simply poke the crust to let out some steam carefully, then divide the crust among guests, and serve pieces of the chicken and vegetables to everyone. Enjoy it all melting in your mouth and watch it disappear. Bon Appétit!
Notes
Compared to the original recipe, I made the crust truffle-flavored, and I accidentally skipped the lettuce hearts, and added more vegetables and butter. Next time will be just as shown above, perhaps with some truffle salt sprinkled on the crust (before or after... hmmm). I also cut down the cooking time significantly.