Recipe and photo by Cat Bude
I first learned about Papi’s Chicken with Calvados and Sautéed Apples while exploring classic French recipes. Normandy cuisine is all about apples, cream, and Calvados, and this dish wraps it all up in one beautiful package. It’s the kind of easy French recipe that feels special but doesn’t require a lot of effort, especially on a chilly evening.
The dish starts with thinly pounded chicken breast, which gets cooked alongside mushrooms and apples in a creamy Calvados sauce. Cat recommends serving the chicken with crispy potatoes sautéed in duck fat. Skip the olive oil and find the duck fat! Living in Europe, it’s easy to find duck fat at French grocery stores—usually refrigerated in the butcher department. If you’re in the U.S., you can often find small jars at specialty grocery stores. If you’re in a pinch, you can always order duck fat on Amazon. Once you have it, you’ll want to use it for everything—duck fat potatoes, roasting vegetables, etc.
This is the perfect cozy recipe for a cold or rainy fall or winter night. With its creamy sauce, apples, and perfectly crispy potatoes, it’s basically French comfort food on a plate. It’s warm, indulgent, and guaranteed to make any dinner feel just a little more special.
If you loved Papi’s Chicken with Calvados and Sautéed Apples, you’ll want to explore the rest of the recipes from French Kitchen Lessons: Recipes & Stories from Normandy’s Rabbit Hill Farm by Cat Bude.
“This recipe captures all the iconic flavors of Normandy and was one of my father-in-law’s favorites. Made with farm-raised chicken, apples, mushrooms, and a delicious cream sauce of flamed Calvados, it blends elegance with the rusticity of country food. I suggest serving it with crispy potatoes that have been steamed and then finished to a golden crust by sautéing in duck fat. The name of the dish comes from the area of Pays d’Auge, which is an area in the heart of Normandy, and the escalope comes from the scallopini or thinly pounded breast of chicken.“
Papi's Chicken with Calvados and Sautéed Apples
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts, each about 6 ounces / 170 g
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more as needed
- 8 ounces (225 g) mushrooms, champignons de Paris or button, sliced into 1/4-inch / 6 mm pieces
- 2 medium shallots, finely chopped
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) Calvados or brandy
- 2 Gala or Golden Delicious unpeeled apples, cut into wedges
- 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) chicken stock
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) crème fraîche
salt and freshly ground black pepper
- golden crust potatoes, for serving
Golden Crust Potatoes
Ingredients
- water, for steaming
- 1 pound (450 g) unpeeled small fingerling or thin-skinned potatoes
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoons duck fat or olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, halved
- fleur de sel, for finishing
Instructions
- In a steamer pot or a large stockpot fitted with a steamer basket, over high heat, add about 3 inches / 7.5 cm water. Place the potatoes in the basket; be sure the basket does not touch the water. Cover the pot, then cook for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender when poked with the sharp tip of a knife. Once steamed, lay the potatoes on a tea towel to cool to the point that you can handle them.
- Once the potatoes are cool, cut the potatoes lengthwise in half with a sharp knife.
- In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, add the butter and duck fat. Once the butter and duck fat are hot and bubbly, carefully add the potatoes. You will want to be able to lay all the potatoes face down, skin side up in a single layer.
- Leave the potatoes to brown and crisp on the first side for 5 minutes, testing occasionally by peeking at the surface of the potato to check for even cooking. Add the garlic, then flip the potatoes over and cook the skin side for 5 minutes. Toss the potatoes with the warmed garlic and oil right before transferring to a serving plate.
- Serve immediately and finish with a sprinkle of fleur de sel.
Excerpted with permission from French Kitchen Lessons: Recipes & Stories from Normandy’s Rabbit Hill Farm by: Cat Bude published by Hardie Grant Books, October 2024, RRP $40.00 Hardcover.