How to make it: Marc Surette’s chicken fricot recipe
Recreate this warming regional classic following the tips of Marc Surette of Moncton’s Bistro 33, who has cooked for the likes of the Queen
Chicken fricot is a traditional Acadian dish — a hearty stew made with leftovers and dumplings, wonderfully comforting on a cold New Brunswick night. This version is, as Marc Surette of Moncton’s Bistro 33 says, “the Cadillac of fricot recipes”.
Serves: 4
Takes: 90 mins, plus overnight resting
Ingredients
1 small chicken
2 large onions, chopped
1 tbsp dried summer savory (or a mix of sage and thyme)
2 carrots, peeled and sliced into ½cm chunks
1 medium potato, peeled and chopped into 1cm cubes
For the Dumplings
150g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp dried summer savory (or a mix of sage and thyme)
Method
1 Put the chicken in a large saucepan and fully cover with water. Add the summer savory and simmer over a medium heat for 45-60 mins, until cooked.
2 Lift out the chicken; set aside. Rest the resulting broth in the fridge overnight.
3 Once the chicken is cool, pull it apart into small pieces, discarding the bones. Keep it in the fridge until you need it.
4 The next day, skim the fat off the broth (reserving the liquid) and use it to fry the onion in a saucepan over a medium heat, until soft. Add the carrot, potato, chicken and broth, bring to the boil and simmer over a medium heat for 30 mins. Season to taste.
5 Put the dumpling ingredients into a bowl with 1 tsp salt. Gently mix in about 100ml of broth to form a loose dough. Dip a tablespoon in the bubbling broth to get it hot, then use it to drop spoonfuls
Read our New Brunswick post featuring Marc Surette here
Published in the March 2018 issue of National Geographic Traveller Food (UK)
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