Poulet Avec Marchand Du Vin. How to Make the Best French Chicken Recipe in 2023.

Poulet Avec Marchand Du Vin. How to Make the Best French Chicken in 2023.

Tonight, we’re making a French chicken dish called poulet avec marchand du vin. This is a very special dish for me personally because it’s the first gourmet recipe that I learned to make almost 40 years ago. Back then this was my “go to” recipe anytime that I had a guest over for dinner.

We also just returned from a week in Paris for the new year, so tonight is the perfect time to share some highlights of our visit, discuss the history of France, and make this delicious French recipe.

The dish is made by taking a boneless skinless chicken breast and pan searing it in extra virgin olive oil, then setting it aside in a warm oven while the sauce is made with wine and sour cream.  

Now the sauce is the funny part of this story. You see, 40 years ago, our favorite dinner wine at that time was Hearty Burgundy, and we used Hearty Burgundy to deglaze the pan in this particular recipe, and then sour cream was added. Well, when you mix the “deep red Burgundy wine” with the “white sour cream”, the sauce turns purple!

When I made this dish for my ex-wife the first time back in the early 1990’s, she couldn’t pronounce the name of the recipe, so she just called it purple chicken. If you don’t want your sauce to be purple, you could use white wine, but that would change the story. So, to keep it interesting, we’ll stick with Burgundy.

It’s a taste of France in the kitchen tonight. Poulet avec marchand du vin, purple chicken. It’s going to be delicious! So, stick around and we’ll show you how we make it.

Tonight, is a taste of France. Poulet Avec Marchand Du Vin… a French recipe with pan seared chicken topped with shallots, mushrooms, garlic and cheese, and a sauce made form chicken stock, sour cream, and red wine.

Any why are we making this dish tonight? Well, this week we were in Paris France. Paris is over two thousand years old and has a rich history and charm like no other.  People know this city for its style, fashion, and breath-taking architecture, but most of all, the wonderful, delicious food.

You’ll find a café or bistro on every street in downtown Paris. The food here is nothing short of amazing from the taste of the dish to the presentation on your plate. Chefs from all over the world travel to Paris to learn the culinary arts. The very first entrée that I learned to make almost 40 years ago was a gourmet French recipe which brings us to our dish tonight.

Our mise en place for tonight’s dish is

For the Chicken
2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
Salt, Pepper and Italian Herb Seasoning
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

For the Toppings & Sauce
4 Tablespoons of Butter
2 Shallots Chopped
4 Oz of Sliced Mushrooms
4 Cloves of Garlic Chopped and Minced
4 Slices of Swiss Cheese
4 oz Grated Smoked Gouda
4 Oz of Grated Parmesan Reggiano Cheese
1 Cup of Burgundy Wine
2 Oz Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
8 Oz of Sour Cream
2 Sprigs of Fresh Chopped Parsley
1 Cup of Chicken Stock (this was added in later years)
2 Tablespoons of Cold Butter (this was added in later years)
½ Box of Linguine

Our first step is to season the chicken breast with salt, pepper, and Italian herb seasoning. Then add some extra virgin olive oil to a large stainless-steel pan and turn the heat to medium low. 

Our chicken breasts were butterflied, this helps to ensure thorough cooking on both sides without drying the outside of the meat. It also makes a better plate presentation. We’ll sauté the chicken breasts for five minutes on each side, or until the internal temperature reaches around 145 degrees.  Normally chicken is served at 165 degrees internal temperature; but we’ll be putting the chicken into the oven a little later on, so 145 degrees for this step is where we want to be.

Wrap the cooked chicken breasts in a sheet of aluminum foil and place them into a 170-degree oven to stay warm. Wrapping them in foil helps them to stay moist while we make our sauce.

In the same pan add in the butter on medium low heat. Then add in the shallots, and the mushrooms, and stir them thoroughly. Sauté them for about 10 minutes until the shallots and mushrooms are browned. Season with salt pepper and Italian herb seasoning. ­After 10 minutes or so, the shallots and mushrooms will turn a nice golden brown. Add in the garlic and cook for one more minute. Put the shallots, mushrooms and garlic into a bowl and set aside.

To get the sauce going, add in the cup of wine to the pan. Then the chicken stock, and the lemon juice, and turn the heat up to medium high and let the sauce simmer and reduce by half.

This will be between five to 10 minutes.  Then add in the sour cream and stir it into the sauce using a whisk. And as you can see, the sauce turns a nice shade of lavender. Let the sauce continue to reduce and adjust for seasoning. We’re adding a pinch of white pepper here.

Turn the oven up to 400 degrees and immediately remove the chicken. Place the butterflied chicken breasts onto a baking sheet with parchment paper and top them all with the sauteed shallots, mushrooms, and garlic. Then cover each of the butterflied breasts with the grated smoked gouda cheese. This cheese is one of my favorites; it adds so much flavor to this dish.  And finally add the sliced Swiss cheese on top of the grated gouda.  The oven should be at 400 by now, so put the pan of chicken into the oven for about eight to 10 minutes until the cheese is melted into the shallots and mushrooms. ­­

In a pot of salted rapidly boiling water, add in the linguine and cook it until al dente; which for this pasta is 10 minutes. We’re using De Cecco brand linguine.  It’s made and imported from Italy and is considered to be the best quality brand of pasta by top chefs in the industry.

By now our sauce is ready. We’ll put it into a gravy boat provided to us by our friends at International Tableware Incorporated in Toledo Ohio.  We’ll use a strainer and a spoon so that the sauce is smooth.

And now it’s time to plate our dish.

And there it is!  Poulet Avec Marchand Du Vin… Butterflied chicken breasts pan seared in olive oil, with shallots, mushrooms, garlic, smoked gouda, and Swiss cheese, and topped with a sauce made from red wine, chicken stock and sour cream.  It was a taste of France in the kitchen tonight.

It was delicious!

Until next time,
Bon Appetit!
Ciao,
Mark