Breton Chicken

Creamy and flavorful, this recipe for Breton Chicken will transport you to the Brittany and Normandy regions of France. These regions of France are my favorite, probably since you are never too far from the sea. The moody weather, the rolling green hills, and the plethora of farms all add to the charm. These neighboring regions in the northwest share green pastures, apple orchards, salty sea air, and a deep appreciation for turning simple farm ingredients into unforgettable food. Breton Chicken, which is very similar to Normandy Chicken, takes full advantage of the region’s abundance of apples and dairy products.

Cider, Seafood, and Cheese

Brittany and Normandy are famous for apples, cider, seafood, and dairy – particularly butter and cheese. Driving through the countryside, you will pass small farms and dairies selling their farm-fresh butter, cider, and cheeses. It feels a bit like you are traveling through France’s pantry! There is actually an official “Cider Route” that winds through the region. One minute you are winding past stone farmhouses and patchwork-green fields. The next, you spot an orchard spilling over with apples or a roadside sign advertising farmhouse cider, fresh butter, and local cheese.

In Normandy, the roads seem to lead naturally toward apples and dairy. Orchards sit beside grazing cows, a pairing that explains so much about the region’s cooking. Stop at a small farm shop and you may find cloudy bottles of local cidre, apple jelly, and Calvados, the fragrant apple brandy that has become one of Normandy’s best-known specialties. It is easy to imagine ending the day with a slice of warm apple tart, made richer with Normandy cream or a little splash of Calvados.

The dairy landscape is just as memorable. Normandy’s pastures produce the milk behind famous cheeses including Camembert, Pont-l’Évêque, and Livarot, along with the deeply yellow butter and thick cream that show up everywhere from seafood sauces to pastries. This is food built for cool coastal weather: comforting, generous, and never shy about butter.

Crossing into Brittany, the scenery stays green but the sea feels closer. Cider remains part of the picture, often served in a small ceramic bowl alongside a buckwheat galette. A drive through the Breton countryside might include a detour to a market town for crêpes, a stop at an orchard for cider, and a final stretch along the coast for oysters or mussels.

Butter is the foundation

Brittany’s butter has its own calling card: salt. Spread onto a hot crêpe or tucked into a sauce, Breton salted butter turns the simplest bite into something worth slowing down for. In Saint Malo, there is even a shop call “La Maison du Beurre” (The House of Butter)! Here, Monsieur Bordier sells his world famous butter from a blue painted store front. Since founding his company in 1985, this famous Brittany butter-maker has used a traditional method of kneading butter using a teak frame and wheel. The butter is then hand shaped using paddles, another traditional technique that Bordier has kept. Along with apples, cider, and the region’s famously fresh seafood, its butter gives Brittany a unique flavor that feels both rustic and refined.

A meandering drive through Brittany and Normandy is not just about the destination. It is about following the signs for cidre fermier, pulling over for a cheese shop, and taking the long way whenever an orchard-lined lane appears. This Breton Chicken embodies all that the region has to offer, and should be added to your upcoming meal plans.

Here are a few other apple recipes to try:

• French Calvados Apple Cake made with French Calvados Apple Brandy
• Frangipane Apple Tart a classic French Apple Tart
• Chai Apple Pie is the BEST apple pie you will ever have, made with a classic lard & butter crust