Chicken galantine

Galantine is a French dish, where the meat has been de-boned and stuffed. Traditionally, it's served cold and in aspic. I came across this recipe in my Wine & Cheese Cookbook and was intrigued, not only because it involved stuffing cheese into chicken (always good), but also because it used couscous (with which I'm not very familiar). Thankfully, this recipe is a variation on the traditional galantine, and is neither cold nor does it involve aspic.

Recipe

adapted from The Definitive Canadian Wine & Cheese CookbookServes 2 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts1/2 cup boiling water1/4 cup couscous1 tbsp toasted and chopped pecans3 oz. brie cheese2 cups chicken stock1/4 cup onion, choppedCook onions in olive oil (or lard) over medium-low temperature until soft. Set aside. In a bowl, combine boiling water and couscous. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 5 minutes, or until the water has been absorbed. Mix in onions, pecans and cheese. Gently flatten each chicken breast with a mallet until uniform thickness (about 1/8 inch). Place 1/2 of couscous-cheese mixture at wide end of flattened breast. Roll chicken into a tight roll, using plastic wrap or cheesecloth to make it as tight as possible. Make sure it completely encloses the roll. In a large saucepan, bring stock to a boil. Place wrapped chicken rolls in the broth, lower the heat to simmer, and cover. Poach for 10 to 20 minutes. Remove wrap from galantine and slice rolled breast.

Musings

A few notes on preparation: Not wanting the stock to go to waste, David also made a sauce. He poured out a bit of excess stock, stirred in a roux (flour/water paste), seasoned with salt and pepper, and added a bit of Dijon mustard. The sauce was allowed to reduce and thicken. In addition to brie, D also added in a bit of extra blue cheese that we had to his couscous-cheese mixture.I was quite pleasantly surprised at how tasty it was. D noted that he probably could add more pecans next time, as they weren't really a strong presence. But the cheese and couscous were delicious with the delicate chicken. D paired it with some divinely good mashed potatoes (that had cream cheese and a bit of blue cheese mixed in) and some steamed green beans. The sauce was a nice touch to tie everything together. Highly pleased.