Matthew Ryle’s Christmas roast capon with chestnuts, buttery pommes Anna, and twice-baked cheese souffle – recipe

 

Rooted in French tradition, this menu celebrates the elegance of seasonal cooking. The twice-baked comté soufflé, light and delicately cheesy, is a timeless favourite that’s simple to prepare yet sure to impress. It’s followed by a roast capon, the festive bird of choice in France, prized for its tender, delicious meat, and paired with chestnuts and pommes Anna. These classic recipes are not just reserved for Christmas tables, but I think the combination captures the spirit of comfort and indulgence that defines traditional French gastronomy.

Chapon rôti, chestnuts, pommes Anna

Prep 5 min
Cook 4 hr 50 min
Set overnight
Serves 8

For the chapon

1 capon (3-3½kg), with liver and gizzard, or 1 extra-large chicken
Salt and black pepper
1 black truffle
1 tbsp olive oil
1½kg fresh chestnuts, or 450g peeled and cooked chestnuts
50g butter
2 celery sticks
1.4 litres chicken stock
50g chervil, or parsley

For the pommes Anna

300g butter, or 250g clarified butter or ghee, plus extra for brushing
8 large floury potatoes, such as maris piper,
Salt and black pepper

The day before, put the butter for the potatoes into a cold pan and slowly bring to a boil, skimming off the froth that comes to the top and leaving the milk solids to sink to the bottom. The clear butter you’re left with is what you want. Transfer the clarified butter to a large bowl.

Line a flat-sided nonstick pan or oven dish with greaseproof paper and heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4. Peel and thinly slice the potatoes to about 1mm thick, ideally on a mandoline, adding the sliced potatoes to the butter bowl as you go. Season generously and mix to coat; the butter might start to set, so keep the bowl somewhere warm-ish; so long as each slice is coated with butter, hard or soft, you’ll be OK.

Start layering the potatoes in the lined pan until it’s filled to the top, then cover with more paper and put a heavy pan on top to weigh down the potatoes. Bake for an hour and a half, then check – if a knife goes through the potatoes without resistance, they’re ready. Remove, leave to cool, then put in the fridge overnight to set.

The next day, heat the oven to 160C (140C fan)/325F/gas 3. Remove the liver and gizzard from the capon, rinse the cavity and pat dry. Generously season the inside of the bird, then put the truffle in the cavity, along with the liver and gizzard. Truss the bird securely, then rub the skin all over with oil and season again.

Put the capon breast-side up in a roasting pan and roast for about two and a half hours, basting several times.

Meanwhile, use a small, sharp knife to slit open the rounded side of each chestnut shell. Drop them into a large pan of boiling salted water, cook for a few minutes, then drain and peel while they’re still warm; make sure you remove both the outer shell and thin inner skin.

Melt the butter in a large skillet, add the peeled chestnuts, and stir gently with a wooden spoon to coat. Add the celery ribs, then pour in the stock, cover the pan and leave to simmer gently, without stirring, for 20 minutes. Drain, then remove and discardthe celery.

Meanwhile, finish the pommes Anna. Turn out the potatoes on to a baking tray and cook in a 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7 oven for 20–30 minutes, until golden and evenly crisp all over, brushing with more melted clarified butter to help things along.

Five minutes before the capon is ready, add the chestnuts to the roasting pan so they can absorb some of the cooking juices. When the capon is cooked, take the pan out of the oven and transfer the bird to a warm platter. Arrange the chestnuts on a separate dish, and sprinkle them with the chopped chervil. Remove the truffle, liver and gizzards from the cavity of the bird., slice the truffle thinly and dice the liver and gizzards, then scatter all of them over the chestnuts.

Transfer the pommes Anna to a platter, sprinkle with salt, then cut into wedges and serve. Carve the capon on a board, then arrange the slices neatly on the platter. Deglaze the roasting pan with 60ml water or stock, scraping up any browned bits, then simmer briefly. Pour the resulting sauce into a sauceboat and serve alongside the capon with the pommes Anna.