Poulet a la Catalane

Poulet A La Catalane
A Northern Spain And Southern French Cuisine!
Difficulty: Moderate

Serve With Tarragon Fingerling Potatoes.

Ingredients
1 free-range chicken, cut into large pieces, leaving skin on
Olive oil, for sautéing
1 slice smoked duck breast, roughly chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 slice unsmoked bacon, cut into cubes
5 tomatoes, peeled and pureed
1 cup tomato concentrate/puree
1 tbsp sugar
2 1/4 cups water, plus 2 cups water, for blanching
1 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour, for thickening
Pinch salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 bitter oranges, blanched *see cooks note (recommended: Bigerades) sliced
*Cooks Note: To blanch the oranges, boil 2 cups of boiling water in a small saucepan. Add oranges and boil for 1 minute. Remove and leave to cool then slice. Blanching the orange removes the bitterness.  You can also use blood oranges.

Directions
Sauté the chicken pieces in olive oil in the pot until they are golden brown. Add the duck breast and sauté another few minutes. Remove and reserve on a plate.
Brown the onions and garlic in the chicken drippings. Remove from the heat and reserve.
Fry the bacon in another pan. *Cooks note: don't use any oil as there is enough fat in the bacon. When the bacon is crisp and the fat is rendered, combine with chicken and duck breast and set aside.
Mix the peeled tomatoes with the tomato concentrate and puree; add sugar. Heat them in another pan until they turn slightly reduced. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of the flour to thicken. Add the onions and garlic to the tomato mixture. Add the chicken, bacon, and duck and cover with 2 1/4 cups of water. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bring to a slow simmer and cook for 40 minutes. Add 4-5 slices of blanched orange to casserole and leave for 20 minutes to allow the orange aromas to permeate the chicken. Then remove them and reserve for garnish.
4 servings