Géline de Touraine with morels and 1245

Ingredients

• 1 oven-ready Géline de Touraine (about 2.2 kg)
• 60 g soft unsalted butter
• 2 sprigs of thyme
• 1 garlic clove
• 25 g dried morels
• 2 shallots (60 g)
• 20 g butter for the sauce
• 15 cl dry white Touraine wine
• 20 cl chicken stock
• 30 cl crème fraîche
• Fine salt, freshly ground pepper

Method

1. 1

   One hour before cooking, take the géline out of the fridge. Soak the morels for 30 minutes in 30 cl of lukewarm water.

2. 2

   Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Season the inside of the bird with salt and pepper, slip in the thyme and the crushed garlic clove, then truss it.

3. 3

   Spread the soft butter over the whole skin, season with salt and pepper and lay the géline on its side in a roasting dish, with 10 cl of water in the bottom.

4. 4

   Roast for 1 hr 30 to 1 hr 45, basting every 15 minutes: turn it onto its other side halfway through, then onto its back for the last 20 minutes. The juices running from the pierced thigh should be clear.

5. 5

   Meanwhile, drain the morels, keeping their soaking water, rinse them carefully to remove any grit and strain the soaking water through a coffee filter.

6. 6

   Melt 20 g of butter in a sauté pan, sweat the finely chopped shallots for 3 minutes, add the morels and sauté for 5 minutes.

7. 7

   Deglaze with the white wine and reduce by half, then add the chicken stock and 10 cl of the strained soaking water. Reduce for a further 10 minutes.

8. 8

   Pour in the cream and leave to thicken over a low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Adjust the seasoning.

9. 9

   Leave the géline to rest for 15 minutes under a sheet of foil, deglaze the roasting dish with a little hot water and add these juices to the sauce.

10. 10

    Carve the bird and serve it coated with morel sauce, with roasted baby potatoes or rice pilaf.