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Poulet Gaston Gérard from the selected Papilles et Pupilles recipe.

Poultry & duck

Poulet Gaston Gérard

By Anne Lataillade

Golden Comté covers chicken in a creamy sauce sharpened with Dijon and wholegrain mustard. White wine brings freshness, paprika adds a gentle warmth, and the cheese melts into the sauce as well as browning on top. Anne Lataillade’s Burgundian version is rich without losing the flavour of the chicken. Bring the casserole to the table with steamed potatoes, fresh pasta or rice to make the most of the sauce.

Prep
10 min
Cook
55 min
Total
1 hr 5 min
Serves4
Jump to recipe ↓Papilles et Pupilles ↗

Ingredients

Chicken and sauce

  • Alternative

    4 chicken legs instead of the whole chicken, at the four-serving base

Method

  1. Melt the butter in the casserole. Separate drumsticks from thighs and brown all sides over fairly high heat. Add salt and paprika, stir, then pour in the wine.
  2. Stir, cover and cook for 30 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a dish.
  3. Add cream and both mustards to the cooking liquid. Bring to a boil and reduce for five minutes. Add a generous half of the Comté; cook over medium heat for five minutes until coating consistency.
  4. Return the chicken, sprinkle with the remaining Comté and bake uncovered in a preheated 170°C / 338°F oven for about ten minutes, until gratinated.
  5. Optionally sprinkle with a little paprika to serve.

Equipment

24 cm cast-iron casserole with lid, suitable for oven use; Plate or dish; Oven

Notes

  • Chicken: start with a good-quality whole bird cut into eight pieces, or use four chicken legs for the original batch.
  • Mustard: cooking mellows its raw heat. Keep the smooth and wholegrain mustards for the character Anne gives this sauce.
  • Wine alternative: use chicken stock with a little lemon juice or white wine vinegar to restore acidity.
  • Pan: a large sauté pan with a lid is Anne’s alternative to a cast-iron casserole.
  • At the table: steamed potatoes, fresh pasta and rice all suit the sauce. Anne suggests white Burgundy, such as Meursault or Pouilly-Fuissé.
  • Prepare ahead: warm gently on the hob or in the oven. Add a little cream or stock if the sauce has thickened too much.
  • Freeze: cool, seal in an airtight container and freeze for up to two or three months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then warm gently under a lid.

Photos

14 photos
Morceaux de pouletIngredientsChicken piecesPaprikaIngredientsPaprikaVin blancIngredientsWhite wineMoutarde de DijonIngredientsDijon mustardMoutarde en grainsIngredientsWholegrain mustardComté râpéIngredientsGrated ComtéMettez les morceaux de pouletStep 1Start the chicken in the casserolePoulet doréStep 1Brown the chicken on all sidesVersez le vin blancStep 1Add paprika and white wineAu bout de 30 minutesStep 2After the covered simmerRemettez les morceaux de pouletStep 4Return the chicken to the creamy mustard sauceSaupoudrez de ComtéStep 4Scatter over the remaining ComtéPoulet Gaston Gérard from the selected Papilles et Pupilles recipe.Finished dishFinished gratin in the casserolePoulet Gaston GérardFinished dishChicken in the mustard and Comté sauce

Poulet Gaston Gérard

Recipe photos

About this dish

A celebrated guest and a spilled spice jar lie behind a Dijon chicken legend. In 1930, Reine Geneviève Bourgogne was cooking for Curnonsky, the food writer known as the Prince of Gastronomes, when paprika accidentally fell into the casserole. She added white wine and grated Comté to rescue the chicken. Curnonsky was delighted and named the dish after his host, Gaston Gérard, the mayor of Dijon. The kitchen rescue belonged to his wife.

Anne Lataillade’s version keeps the Burgundian combination of wine, mustard and a generous sauce. She adjusted the proportions through her own trials so the mustards would season the dish without masking the chicken. Reducing the sauce after lifting out the meat concentrates it; adding Comté in two stages gives both richness within the sauce and a golden top. The final uncovered bake brings those parts together.

Recipe and cooking notes adapted from Papilles et Pupilles.