ROCK'N'RIESLING

It’s still cold around these parts, although yesterday I did see a few shy buds on a scrawny tree; a glimmer of hope that spring may actually arrive in the next few weeks. The weather being what it is, stewed and braised dishes are still acceptable, in my opinion. I made beer stew a few days ago and last night I gave coq au Riesling – or a version of it – a go. I’ve taken quite a liking to Riesling, and if it can be cooked up, all the better. The resulting dish was delightful and although stews and their immediate family conjure up drifts of snow and cozy fireplaces, the leeks and white sauce put a spring in this dish’s step.

In French Regional Cooking Anne Willan takes a whole chicken and cuts it up into eight pieces, browns them, flambés with a bit of cognac, adds Riesling, and cooks. Cream and an egg yolk (for thickening) are added to the pot at the end to make a sauce, and mushrooms are the only vegetable present in the recipe.
Gourmet published a chicken in Riesling recipe in March of this year and their version includes leeks, carrots, and potatoes. I opted for this garniture and added peas as well; perhaps not entirely traditional, but so finger lickin’ good that The Mister and I wound up using spoons to avoid wasting even a single drop of the sauce. It was so good it should be served as soup!


As usual, there were leftovers (if you’re planning on eating leftovers, by the by, forego finishing sauces with an egg yolk, because when you reheat and bring up to a boil, the egg will curdle and you’ll have something more akin to egg drop soup than satiny sauce) and I had a genius idea: chicken pot pie! I would shred the leftover chicken, mix it with the vegetables and sauce, cover it with a crust and bake.

I was giving myself a mental high five for being so resourceful until I started rolling out the dough. What a mess. I had a bag of organic whole grain pastry flour and thought, hey, now would be the ideal occasion for you to test it. I’ve only ever worked with all-purpose, whole wheat, and cake flour, but the bag said that this flour was specifically for pastry, that it would be “perfect for flaky and delicate pastries and cakes,” so there was no reason for me to be apprehensive about using it.

I made the dough in the usual manner for a 9" mold – 200 g. flour, 100 g. butter, 2 egg, and a few teaspoons of water. I wrapped it up, let it rest in the fridge, and then took out the rolling pin. That’s when disaster struck. The dough was cracking and refused to extend in that lovely, smooth way that I’m accustomed to. I wound up scraping it off the counter with a spatula and cobbling it back together on top of the chicken filling. I was angry and ashamed. I’ve made dozens of pie crusts and none of them have ever been this unfit to be seen. Into the oven the pie went anyway.

Things are not looking good.

About a half hour later Frankenpie was ready.

And what a sorry sight he was.

Regardless, I served him up and was, surprisingly, very pleased. This organic, whole grain flour yielded a crust that crumbled like no ordinary flour. Raw, the flour looks a lot like sand, and in pastry form those little grains shatter and crunch gloriously. The whole grain gave it a deeply satisfying, robust, nutty flavor. I guess I’ll make more crusts with this four (Arrowhead Mills) but will stick with the recipe on the back of the bag, which instructs the baker to press the dough right into the pan rather than rolling it out.

Whole grain pastry flour vs bleached all-purpose.