🇨🇦 Canada · Acadia (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island)
FricotAcadian chicken and potato soup
An Acadian soup-stew of chicken (traditionally a hen), potatoes, onion and root vegetables in a savory-seasoned broth, usually with dumplings, eaten with a spoon.
Origin and history
Canada's History says the word fricot comes from France, where in the mid-1700s it meant a feast, and that in the Maritimes 'au fricot' is both the stew and an invitation to eat together. Flavour Network describes the Acadian fricot as a rendition of the original fricot of western France, a humble, frugal dish, made by the French colonists who settled what are now New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island from the early 1600s.
Make it at home
- Makes
- 6 servings
- Total time
- 2 h
- Hands-on
- 35 min
Ingredients
- 2.2 kg5 lb whole chicken (traditionally an older hen, poule)
- 2.4 liters10 cups salted water, for cooking the chicken
- 1 kg2.2 lb yellow-fleshed potatoes, about 10 medium, quartered
- 3 carrots, cut in 2.5 cm (1 in) coins
- 2 ribs celery, diced
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 to 3 chicken bouillon cubes
- 1 tbsp dried summer savory (sarriette), or 1 to 2 sprigs fresh, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp ground black pepper
- 190 g1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, for the dumplings
- 6 g1 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 3 g1/2 tsp salt
- 180 ml3/4 cup whole milk, for the dumplings
Method
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1. Put the chicken in a large pot with the salted water, bring to a boil, then keep it at a steady simmer for about 1 hour, until the meat is tender (an older hen will need longer).
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2. While it cooks, prepare the potatoes, carrots, celery and onion.
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3. Lift the chicken out, strain the broth and keep it. Let the chicken cool enough to handle, then discard skin and bones and shred the meat.
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4. Return the broth and shredded chicken to the pot. Add the vegetables, bouillon, summer savory and pepper, topping up with water if the vegetables are not covered, and bring to a boil.
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5. Lower to medium and cook for about 45 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.
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6. For the dumplings, mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl, then stir in the milk with a fork until you have a soft, sticky batter.
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7. When the stew has simmered for about 30 minutes, drop the batter in spoonfuls, evenly spaced, onto the surface. Cover and cook for about 15 minutes, until the dumplings are firm yet fluffy and the potatoes are tender.
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8. Taste, add salt if needed, and serve in bowls with a spoon.
Notes
- Quantities follow the Canada's History recipe for fricot à la poule (serves 6 to 8, about 1 3/4 to 2 hours), cooked as written. Canada's History says recipes say poule (hen) rather than poulet because Acadians generally did not kill their egg-laying hens; older hens have tougher meat and need a longer simmer, while a regular chicken works as written. Rabbit was the preferred meat for celebratory fricot at Christmas, New Year and Easter, and the meat or seafood can be swapped.
- Summer savory is the herb the author's family considers essential, with a peppery taste hinting of marjoram, thyme and mint; thyme is the nearest widely available substitute, though the taste differs.
- The dumplings are also called grand-pères or poutines (unrelated to Quebec's poutine); the article says the stew is usually made with potatoes and dumplings.
- The bouillon cubes are the source recipe's choice; a well-made hen broth needs fewer.
- Reheats well, but add a little water, since the potatoes and dumplings absorb broth overnight.
Adapted from Canada's History, 'A Flexible Feast' (fricot a la poule recipe) and Flavour Network, The History of the Acadian Fricot.
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