Fernand Point-Style Chicken Breast with Prawn Butter Cream Sauce · PrimedTable
French🐟 Seafood
Fernand Point-Style Chicken Breast with Prawn Butter Cream Sauce
⏱ 40 min🍽 Serves 2
A classic recipe from legendary chef Fernand Point: chicken breast gently poached using the French "cuire à blanc" technique, cooked with mirepoix, deglazed with white wine and Madeira, then finished with a homemade prawn compound butter for rich flavor and silky texture. Served with button mushrooms and morels, this is a luxurious yet approachable French classic.
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Adapted from a video by French Cooking Academy
The "Secret" Ingredient for the Best Chicken Cream Sauce
Cooked tiger prawnsShell-on, including heads and roe/coral~250 gest.
Butter (for prawn butter)~150 gest.
Aleppo chili flakes (or cayenne pepper)a pinch
Chicken breasts (with wing attached)2
Extra chicken wing piecesFor added flavor~200 gest.
Onion~1est.
Carrot~1est.
Celery~1est.
Madeira wine
~½ cupest.
Medium-dry white wine~1 cupest.
Cream~½ cupest.
Button mushroomsCut into quarters~250 gest.
Lemon juice~2 tbspest.
Saltto taste
Black pepperto taste
Butter (for poaching mushrooms)20 g
Morel mushroomsFor garnish~150 gest.
Butter (for sautéing morels)~2 tbspest.
ParsleyTarragon can be used instead~2 tbspest.
TarragonOptional garnish~1 tspest.
Steps
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1
Take cold cooked prawns, snap off the heads and reserve the red roe/coral inside. Peel the bodies and devein them.
2
Put the prawn heads, roe, chopped prawn meat, and butter into a container, then blend with an immersion blender on high speed until it forms a smooth paste.
3
Pass the blended prawn butter through a sieve if desired, then mix in the chili flakes to season — the prawn compound butter is ready.
4
Add quartered mushrooms to a pot with just enough water to barely cover them, plus salt, pepper, butter, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and set aside.
5
In another pan, melt a tablespoon of the prawn butter along with a little regular butter over low heat. Place the chicken skin-side down and gently cook using the French "cuire à blanc" technique, aiming for minimal coloring. Flip briefly, then remove and set aside.
6
In the same pan, add onion, carrot, and celery and cook for a few minutes to release their flavor. Deglaze with white wine and reduce by half over high heat.
7
Add the Madeira wine and reduce briefly for a minute or two, then stir in the cream and some of the mushroom poaching liquid.
8
Return the chicken to the pan, partially cover, and simmer for about 7 minutes per side until fully cooked.
9
While the chicken simmers, quickly sauté the morels in butter in a separate pan, season with salt, pepper, and parsley, to use as garnish.
10
Once the chicken is cooked, remove and keep warm. Strain the cooking liquid into another pan to form the sauce base.
11
Gently heat the sauce over low heat, adjust with a splash more Madeira to taste, then slowly incorporate the prawn compound butter to thicken it — swirl the pan rather than whisking to avoid breaking the sauce.
12
Optionally stir in a touch of parsley or tarragon, then return the chicken to the sauce and coat well.
13
Plate the chicken, spoon over the sauce, and garnish with the poached mushrooms, sautéed morels, and a little extra melting prawn butter before serving.
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