The definition of gratin is cooking with breadcrumbs and sometimes cheese, but the best cheese for me to use is always the Gruyere Cheese. Its versatility and flavor makes it the best candidate for a cooked cheese. Aside from gruyere being the best cheese for fondues, it can also be placed as toppings or bases for an excellent dish like the one below. Always use the freshest ingredients when making this superb dish. And when getting cheese, always buy from the reliable source, and I’m talking about the Ideal Cheese Shop. So order now and let’s get going on this…
Chicken gratin with onion sauce and Gruyere
- One 3 to 4 pound chicken, cut up
- salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoon veggie oil
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 2 yellow onions chopped
- ¾ cup finely chopped shallots
- 1 ½ cups white wine
- ½ cup sour cream
- 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 5 ounces gruyere cheese grated
Season the chicken on all sides. In a large sauté pan, heat the oil and butter over medium high heat until the butter melts. Working in two batches if necessary, cook the chicken until it is a rich golden brown all over, roughly about 10 to 12 minutes. If it threatens to burn, lower heat. When done, transfer to a plate, tent loosely with aluminum foil and place in warm oven (about 200 degrees.)
Pour off all but 4 tablespoons of fat and place pan over medium heat. Add the onions and shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until pale gold at the edges. Raise the heat to medium high and add the wine. Deglaze the pan and simmer for 2 minutes, scraping the bottom to loosen brown bits.
Return the legs and thighs to the skillet along with any accumulated juices. Cook to a bare simmer for 10 minutes, turning the pieces after about 5 minutes. Add the breast pieces and cook for 5 minutes longer. Check to make sure all the chicken is cooked through. Transfer chicken to plate.
Whisk the sour cream, mustard, and 1 teaspoon of salt into the pan juices until well mixed.
Preheat broiler.
Evenly distribute half the cheese over the bottom of an earthenware or glass baking dish just large enough to hold the chicken in a single layer. Arrange the chicken on top of the cheese. Pour the onion sauce evenly over the chicken and top with the rest of the cheese.
Broil until bubbly and just a little golden in spots. Serve immediately from the baking dish, spooning additional onion sauce over each portion.
With this dish, you can have those wine rules crumble before you and just take in your favorite ‘reds’. A ready-to-drink-medium weight red Burgundy with a gentle core of earthy, red fruit flavor is good with this dish. Or if you like, a Pinot Noir is just as good. So eat up.
For added tips: always choose fresh chicken over frozen ones – they are moister and are more flavorful. If you buy it vacuum packed, try to check for water in the package. This will indicate that the bird may have been frozen. To get the most authentic cheeses available, check out the best cheese shop available online.
