Chicken Fricassee

Chicken fricassee is a dish from the Italian tradition, where the chicken is cooked in a creamy sauce made with eggs and lemon. Here’s how to prepare it:

Ingredients

• 1 chicken, cut into pieces
• Flour, as necessary to dredge the chicken pieces
• 50 g of butter
• 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• Chicken broth, as necessary
• 2 egg yolks
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Chopped parsley, as necessary
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation

1. Begin by lightly flouring the chicken pieces.
2. Melt the butter together with the olive oil in a large frying pan and brown the chicken pieces until golden brown on all sides.
3. Add the chopped onion and let it wilt, then cover the chicken pieces with hot broth just enough to cover and cook covered on medium-low heat for about 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked and tender. If necessary, add more broth during cooking.
4. In the meantime, in a small bowl, beat the egg yolks with the lemon juice.
5. Once the chicken is cooked, remove the pieces from the pan and keep them warm.
6. Gently add the egg and lemon mixture to the cooking juices of the chicken, stirring quickly on very low heat, to create a creamy sauce without the egg curdling too much.
7. Adjust the salt and pepper, and return the chicken pieces to the pan to warm them briefly in the sauce.
8. Sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving.

Curiosity

Fricassee is a culinary technique used to cook pieces of white meat (chicken, rabbit, veal) with an egg and lemon sauce that makes the dish rich and creamy. The word “fricassea” comes from the French “fricassée,” which literally means “chopped, minced,” emphasizing the preparation of the meat in pieces before cooking.