2021 Brana, Ilori, Irouleguy Blanc + Chaval's Poulet à la Forestière

With Chef & Co-Owner Damian Sansonetti

 
 

Before Chef Damian Sansonetti was Chef and Co-Owner of West End staple, Chaval, and even before he was the acclaimed chef de cuisine at the uber-French Bar Boulud in New York, he grew up savoring his mother's and grandmother's cooking — from handmade pasta to grilled fish — while also learning how to cure meat and make sausages with his grandfather. A career in food was practically his birthright. After cutting his teeth at Boulud’s restaurants (some of the most challenging and technically advanced kitchens in NYC) and meeting the Pastry Chef Ilma Lopez, the two partnered in love, life and cooking and moved up to Maine to raise a family and found two of Portland, Maine’s best restaurants.

Tucked into the West End, Chaval offers a seasonally-inspired menu with French and Spanish influences. “I grew up in a very, very large Italian family. And yes, the stereotypes are sometimes true. We'd love to eat! We talked about food, there was food always around the table. There was always something cooking on the stove. There was always something preparing to get cooking after the last thing came out of the stove. There was salt cod soaking and there was pasta drying, there were vegetables being grown or dried out or last night's bread being dried out overnight for croutons…” This sense of abundance is evident in Chaval’s atmosphere. It’s a place you’ll never leave hungry. 


We turned to Chaval’s Chef Sansonetti for the ultimate French-country chicken and mushroom dish. It is OUTSTANDING! It’s so good, Chaval put it on the menu! Below, you’ll find the secrets of Poulet Forestière à la Crème, a French classic with Maine twists. Sansonetti adores this wine pairing because the dish, while flavor-packed and savory, is not too heavy and matches the light, bright acidity of the 2021 Brana, Ilori from Irouleguy, France. The Ilori is pale yellow with delicate aromas of dried flower and herbs (chamomile and tarragon), citrus fruits (grapefruit, lemon, bergamot) and tropical fruit. The citrusy, zippiness of this wine is absolutely perfect with the touch of lemon zest that finishes this dish.

RECIPE

Chaval’s Poulet à la Forestière

 

Serves

2 - 3

Prep Time

30

Cook Time

45

 
 

Equipment:

  • Oven-safe stainless steel or enamel-coated cast iron pan, at least 9 inches

  • Baking sheet

  • Meat thermometer — optional

 

Ingredients:

  • 2 Chicken Breast, skin on  - with wing bone if you can and a good quality chicken

  • 1 Shallot, thinly sliced

  • 1lb Mushrooms of your choice, sliced or chopped

  • 4-6 small Yukon Potatoes (Or any smaller potato you desire)

  • ½ Cup Amontillado Sherry

  • ½ Cup heavy Cream

  • 4 Tbsp Unsalted Butter

  • Kosher Salt

  • White Pepper – either whole in pepper mill or ground

  • 1 Lemon, for zest

  • Neutral oil, canola or grapeseed

  • Watercress, washed and picked

  • 1 oz Maine Dulse – lightly toasted

 

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400* 

Potatoes

Toss potatoes in a splash of oil to coat and season with salt and pepper.

Wrap up in foil and roast for about 20 minutes until tender. 

When tender, you can unwrap and roast 10 more min for some color and crispiness, set aside

Chicken

While potatoes are roasting, season your chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper.

Place your saute pan over medium heat and add in 2 Tbsp oil, let it get a little warm (this will vary depending on your stovetop) and place the breasts skin side down and away from you.

Give the pan a gentle shake so as to make sure they are not sticking.

Cook on the stovetop for 2 minutes, then place in the oven.

Bake until chicken is just cooked through, it can take roughly 8-12 min depending on size and your oven. You can also use a meat thermometer to check that the chicken is cooked through: 165*

Take the pan out of the oven and replace it on the stovetop, leave the fatty oils in the pan and remove only the chicken and place on a plate skin side up, if possible, avoid cutting into it to check that it’s cooked. (Chef says “this is called resting the meat —  some juices will release and we’ll use those later”)

Mushroom + Shallot Sauce

Add 1 – 2 “knobs” of butter (Chef’s Note: “a knob of butter is about a square about the size of your thumb nail”) and melt on medium heat. It should become a little golden, almost brown.

Add in your mushrooms and saute, moving them around. Around 2 - 3 minutes, they should become a nice golden color.

Add in the shallots and cook until wilted, about 2 min more, season with salt and pepper.

Take the pan off the flame, now deglaze with the sherry! Deglazing means pouring a cooking wine onto a hot pan to create a sauce. Since the pan is very hot at this point, you’ll want to hold it away from you and pour slowly, there will be some sizzling or steam.

Return the pan to the burner, you might get a little flame! No need to panic, it’ll die down.

Add the cream to the pan and simmer for about 2- 4 min over medium heat, it will naturally begin to thicken. (Chef Sansonetti notes that a low-dairy option is possible using almond milk or oat milk, with the addition of a simple roux as a thickening agent)

Finishing touches

Cut the breast in half and arrange on your serving dish, alongside the roasted potatoes, and spoon the breasts with the mushroom + shallot cream sauce.

Garnish with lemon zest using a microplane, Maine Dulse, your favorite crunchy finishing sea salt and your favorite microgreen or herb of choice, we love watercress for a kick or spicy baby arugula too!

Make sure to enjoy it with the delicious Brana Ilori and share with your best friend!

Meet your Chef:

Chef Damian Sansonetti, a Pittsburgh native, grew up exploring fresh, local ingredients, making pasta with his grandmothers, curing meats with his grandfather, and assisting his father in the family kitchen. A career in food was practically his birthright. After graduating from the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute, Sansonetti worked at Nantucket’s Brant Point Grill and Pittsburgh’s Steelhead Grill, moving to New York to open Heartbeat in the W Hotel. Sansonetti met Daniel Boulud while working at Shallots in Midtown and eventually took a position at Boulud’s DB Bistro Moderne. Training rigorously under Chef Olivier Muller, Sansonetti became chef de banquet at Daniel and then sous chef under Jean Francois Bruel. Promoted to executive chef of Bar Boulud in 2008, Sansonetti was named a 2009 StarChefs.com Rising Star and, in 2022, a finalist for the James Beard Award for Best Chef, Northeast. Now ensconced in the burgeoning food scene of Portland, Maine, Sansonetti’s partnered with his wife, Pastry Chef Ilma Lopez (a 2014 StarChefs.com Rising Star Pastry Chef and nominated in 2018 for a James Beard Award as Outstanding Pastry Chef), to open their Italian fine dining restaurant Piccolo and in 2017 Chaval. Sansonetti was a 2022 finalist for the James Beard Award, Best Chef Northeast.


PS! If you liked this recipe, tell Chef Sansonetti in person by joining us on one of seven Chef Series, Wine + Food Sails on the beautiful Frances windjammer. During these incredible events, Chef Sansonsetti and his wife and business partner, the acclaimed pastry chef Ilma Lopez, will treat you to a stunning five-course meal as Sommelier Erica Archer pours you five stunning wines to pair. These are truly the best meal reservations in the city come summertime. See you there!

If this is your community, this is your club.

 
Wine Wise