Poularde de Portugal
t is to the friars of Portugal that we are indebted for this famous contribution to the world's store of cookery. When the French troops sacked a Portuguese monastery during the Peninsular war the cook was forced to flee from his sanctorium, leaving behind his precious book of recettes. This the invaders seized, with other spoil, and carried back to Paris.
Here, the culinary grammar fell into the hands of a noted chef, who, one day happened upon the recette for Poularde de Portugal, a dish that took the French capital by storm.
This olden monastic recette is followed at the Congress. A large imported Portugal chicken is cooked until the rich broth attains the consistency of jelly. Then fresh mushrooms are added, the whole being sealed up in a casserole and put in the oven. In this way evaporation is cut off completely and all the delightful flavor stays in the dish.
When the casserole is brought to the dining room and unsealed before the guests, the fragrant aroma that arises attests the merit of the monastery's cookery.
"Thirteen at table is a number to be dreaded only when there is just enough to go round for twelve."
—L'Almanach des Gourmands