Pot roasted chicken stuffed with morels, champagne sauce

Cover the dried morels with boiling water and soak 30 to 40 minutes.

Brown the chicken carcasses in 1 tbsp oil, no salt or pepper, starting medium to medium-high, about 10 minutes.

Lower the heat, lift out the carcasses, add the vegetable garnish and a piece of butter; cook a minute or two.

Deglaze with champagne, scrape the pan and reduce until syrupy, a few tablespoons left.

Return the carcasses, stir in about a tablespoon of flour.

Add the boiled stock, season with salt and pepper, add a little morel liquid, and simmer 15 to 20 minutes as the sauce base.

Rinse each morel under running water, pressing out sand from the cavities.

Cook the shallot in the butter 2 to 3 minutes on medium; add the morels, season with pepper and salt, raise the heat and cook a few minutes; add a little parsley.

Fill the trussed chicken's cavity with the morels; close with a flap of skin and a skewer; season well with salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 190C.

Colour the chicken on all sides in 2 to 3 tbsp clarified butter in the pot over medium-high heat.

Off the heat, make a bed of the onion, celery and carrot, set the chicken on it, add plenty of clarified butter, cover.

Pot roast in the oven about one and a half hours, basting with butter and juices about every 30 minutes.

Ten to 15 minutes before the end, brush with butter and finish uncovered about 10 minutes to colour the top.

Remove the chicken, take the morels out of the cavity, cover with foil and rest 20 minutes.

Pour the pot's butter and juices into a bowl; the brown layer under the butter is the chicken juice for the sauce.

In the same pot, warm the morels in some of the skimmed chicken butter; deglaze with a little champagne on high heat.

Add the sauce base, bring to a boil and reduce about 5 minutes.

Add the chicken juices and reduce; add cream, bring to the boil and reduce another 5 minutes or more.

Finish the sauce with a little parsley; serve with the chicken and rice.