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Chicken with asparagus (poularde aux asperges)

Erken 1914: Boiled hen (2) with asparagus, served with a sauce made from chicken stock, butter, and flour, seasoned with sherry, sugar, and cayenne, thickened with egg yolks and cream. Arranged on a slice of white bread with potato and pea purée and hot asparagus.

Source: Henriette Schønberg Erken, Stor kokebok, 1914-utg. s. 281 (falt i det fri)

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About the dish

From the chapter "Poultry and game" in Henriette Schønberg Erken's "Stor kokebok" (1914). A festive French-style presentation, where boiled hen is served in a velvety, egg-thickened sauce made from the cooking stock, with piping-hot asparagus and decorative dishes of potato and pea purée.

How to make it

  1. 1

    Prepare the hens

    Pluck, singe, and clean the hens, rinse them well, and place them in cold water for 4 hours.

  2. 2

    Boiling

    Place the hens in boiling, salted water. Skim well when it comes to a boil, and let them simmer covered until tender – 1 to 4 hours depending on the age of the birds.

  3. 3

    Stock

    Take up the hens, rinse them with cold water, and keep them warm over steam. Strain the stock, let it stand half an hour, and skim off the fat.

  4. 4

    Sauce

    Stir the butter and flour together, thin with about 1 liter of the stock, and let the sauce simmer for half an hour. Season with sugar, sherry, and cayenne.

  5. 5

    Thickening

    Just before serving, whisk the egg yolks together with the cream and thicken the sauce with the mixture. The sauce must not boil afterward.

  6. 6

    Chicken in the sauce

    Cut the hens into neat pieces and warm them in the sauce without letting it boil.

  7. 7

    Asparagus

    Trim and cook the asparagus so it is ready at the same time as the sauce.

  8. 8

    Presentation

    Place a large, thick slice of white bread in the middle of the platter. Arrange the chicken pieces, coated with sauce, at each end of the platter. Set potato shells filled with potato or pea purée along the sides, and small molds of peas as well if you like. Place the piping-hot asparagus on the bread slice and in small bundles around the platter.

Changes from the original

Measurements have been converted to modern units (dl, g, kg). "Knife-tip" is interpreted as a pinch. The amount of stock for the sauce is given as about 1 liter where the original figure is unclear in the print. The sherry is retained, and the method has been divided into numbered steps.

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Time machine – what changed?

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From19141949Modernised
To19141949Modernised
1949 (proofread, p. 312) → Modernised~83% of the text changedremovedadded
2 stk høns (plukket og renset). 150 gr. smør g smør. 50 gr. hvetemel kajenne g hvetemel. 1 knivsodd klype cayennepepper (etter smak). 1 klype sukker (1 knivsodd). 1 del. sherry dl sherry. 2 eggeplommer stk eggeplommer. 1 del. fløte ½ kg. asparges Hønsene plukkes, svies, åpnes, skylles godt, legges dl fløte. 1,5 kg asparges. salt (til kokevannet). 1 stk tykk skive loff (franskbrød) (til anretning). Plukk, svi og rens hønsene, skyll dem godt og legg dem i kaldt vann i 4 timer. Settes over varmen timer.. Legg hønsene i kokende, saltet vann, skummes vann. Skum godt når det koker op, småkoker opp, og la dem småkoke under lokk til hønsene de er møre, 2—4 møre – 1 til 4 timer efter alderen. Hønsene tas op, skylles avhengig av alderen på fuglene.. Ta opp hønsene, skyll dem over med koldt vann, holdes kaldt vann og hold dem varme over damp; kraften siles, står ½ time; fettet skummes av. Smør damp. Sil kraften, la den stå en halv time og mel røres sammen, speses skum av fettet.. Rør sammen smør og mel, spe med ¾ l. ca. 1 liter av kraften, småkoker ½ time, tilsettes sukker, vin kraften og kajenne. Idet hønsene skal serveres, jevnes la sausen småkoke i en halv time. Smak til med eggeplommene, som er vispet sukker, sherry og cayenne.. Rett før servering visper du eggeplommene sammen med fløten. Hønsene skjæres op fløten og jevner sausen med blandingen. Sausen må ikke koke etterpå.. Skjær hønsene opp i pene stykker, disse varmes stykker og varm dem i sausen, men skal ikke koke. Aspargesene varmes eller kokes, så de er ferdige sausen uten at den koker.. Rens og kok aspargesen slik at den blir ferdig samtidig med sausen. En sausen.. Legg en stor, tykk skive franskbrød legges loff midt på fatet, fatet. Legg hønsestykkene, overtrukket av med saus, legges omkring på rundt i hver ende av fatet. Potetskåler, Sett potetskåler fylt med potet- eller ertepuré, settes på langsiden av fatet, likeså timbalskåler, fylt ertepuré langs sidene, gjerne også små former med erter. På Legg den rykende varme aspargesen på brødskiven og i småbunker omkring små bunker rundt på fatet legges de kokte, rykende hete asparges. fatet.

Note on Modernised

Mål er omregnet til moderne enheter (dl, g, kg). «Knivsod» er tolket som en klype. Kokekraftmengden til sausen er angitt som ca. 1 liter der originalens tall er utydelig i trykket. Sherry er beholdt, og fremgangsmåten er delt i nummererte trinn.

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Frequently asked questions

How long do the hens need to cook?
The hens are simmered covered in boiling, salted water until tender – from 1 to 4 hours depending on the age of the bird. Skim well when it comes to a boil.
Why should the hens sit in water for 4 hours first?
After plucking, singeing, drawing, and rinsing, the hens are placed in water for 4 hours. This draws out blood and gives cleaner meat and clearer stock. It is also the reason for the long total time of about 7 hours.
How is the sauce made?
150 g butter and 50 g all-purpose flour are stirred together and thinned with 1 liter of the strained, skimmed stock. The sauce simmers half an hour, and sugar, sherry, and cayenne are added. Just before serving it is thickened with 2 egg yolks whisked with 1 deciliter of cream – it must not boil then, or it will split.
How much asparagus is needed?
The recipe uses 1½ kg asparagus for 2 hens, serving 8.

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