Hard cider has been fermented, so it contains alcohol. It is a traditional ingredient in Normandy, France, but you can substitute dry white wine.

　　

Ingredients

serves 4

　　1 whole chicken (about 4 pounds), cut into 8 pieces (each breast half cut in half crosswise), rinsed well and patted dry

　　Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

　　1 tablespoon unsalted butter

　　2 teaspoons olive oil

　　4 small leeks (about 1 pound), white and pale-green parts only, cut crosswise into 3-inch pieces, rinsed well

　　1 cup good-quality hard apple cider

　　1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh thyme leaves

　　1/2 cup Crème Fraîche (recipe follows; or use store-bought)

　　1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

　　

Crème Fraîche

2 cups heavy cream

　　2 tablespoons low-fat buttermilk

　　(makes about 2 cups)

　　

Step 1

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Melt butter with the oil in a large enameled cast-iron Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just bubbling. Add half the chicken pieces, skin sides down; cook, turning once, until golden, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer chicken pieces to a plate; set aside. Repeat with remaining chicken pieces; add to plate. Remove pot from heat; let cool slightly.

　　

Step 2

Return pot to medium-low heat, and add leeks. Cook, stirring frequently, until leeks begin to soften and are pale golden, about 3 minutes. Add hard cider and thyme. Move leeks to edges of pot, and add all the chicken pieces to pot, skin sides down. Arrange leeks over chicken. Cover, and cook 15 minutes (if liquid is bubbling rapidly, reduce heat to low). Turn chicken pieces, and cook until breasts are cooked through, about 5 minutes more.

　　

Step 3

Transfer chicken breasts to a plate, and cover to keep warm. Adjust leeks so they are submerged in liquid. Cook, uncovered, until the remaining chicken pieces are tender and cooked through, about 10 minutes.

　　

Step 4

Using a slotted spoon, transfer all of the chicken to a warm serving platter. Remove leeks from pot, and arrange the leeks around chicken. Cover with foil, and set aside. Return pot to medium heat. Cook, uncovered, until liquid has reduced by about half (to a scant 2/3 cup), 8 to 10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low. Whisk in the crème fraîche and parsley. Ladle pan sauce over chicken and leeks. Serve immediately.

　　

Crème Fraîche

Step 5

Stir together cream and buttermilk in a medium bowl. Let stand at room temperature, partially covered, until thick, about 12 hours. Stir; cover, and refrigerate until ready to use, up to 2 weeks.

　　Reprinted with permission from The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The New Classics by Martha Stewart Living Magazine, copyright © 2007. Published by Clarkson Potter, a division of The Crown Publishing Group.Buy the full book from Amazon.