No. 1015 — Braised Hen with Prunes on a Vol-au-Vent
English historical translation of Molokhovets recipe No. 1015 from the 1901 Russian cookbook, retaining original methods and measures.
Clean and salt a large hen; cut into pieces. Put ¼ Russian pound of butter in a saucepan with root vegetables and spices; once the butter bubbles, add the hen.
Cover and braise until tender, turning the pieces and adding a little water at a time. Remove the browned hen, cut into pieces if necessary, return to the pan and add three glasses of broth; cook for about half an hour.
Meanwhile fry a spoonful of flour in some butter and dilute with the hen's broth. Add a little vinegar or lemon juice and one or two lumps of sugar; boil and strain over the hen.
Scald the prunes with boiling water, cover and leave for one to one and a half hours, then lift out with a slotted spoon. Add to the hen and bring everything once more to the boil.
Bake a puff-pastry base with a raised rim, as in No. 303, or use another rich or short pastry. Place it on a platter, pile the hen and prunes onto it, drizzle with sauce and serve the rest separately.
For economy, the book suggests making soup from the hen and serving the boiled bird on the vol-au-vent.
To provide
1 large hen and 2 spoonfuls of butter 1 carrot, 1 parsley root and 1 celery root 1 onion and 10–15 allspice berries | 2–3 bay leaves 1 spoonful of flour, vinegar or ½ lemon 1–2 lumps of sugar 1¼ glasses, or ½ Russian pound, of prunes |