Coq Au Vin

Another classic French masterpiece that was originally a peasants dish using up very simple foods by making a slow cooked casserole with affordable and readily available ingredients, like chicken, red wine, onions and mushrooms. This dish is always great if you’re having friends over, and if you make it the day before it tastes better the next day.

Ingredients: Serves 6 people

  • 6 chicken legs

  • 1 cup bacon lardons or chopped bacon

  • 24 pearl onions peeled (or 2 brown onions peeled and quartered)

  • Olive oil

  • 1 tbsp tomato paste

  • 200g mushrooms

  • 2 glasses red wine (1/2 bottle)

  • 3 cups of chicken or beef stock

  • 3 tbsp flour

  • ¼ cup cognac

  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme, or 1 tsp dried thyme

  • 2 cloves of garlic crushed

 

Method

Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large deep pot, add the bacon and cook until browned, take out and set aside.

Using the same pan brown each chicken leg both sides.  Do this in batches if there isn’t enough space in the pan.

Once all the chicken is browned and in the pot, add the cognac and let cook for a couple of minutes.  You can flambe the alcohol if you want, just carefully tilt the pot, add a flame from a long lighter and it will go burn the alcohol off – stand back though and be careful.

Next add the onions, thyme, tomato paste and crushed garlic around the chicken. Cook for a few minutes.

Sprinkle the flour over the top and turn the chicken legs gently.

Pour in the red wine and stock, place a lid on the pan and on a low heat leave to simmer gently for 20 minutes.

Once the chicken is cooked through you can serve straight up, or make this a day ahead and keep it in the fridge and reheat gently the next day.

I love to serve this dish with mashed potatoes and French green beans.  The coq au vin is rich so you just need something simple to accompany it.

Chicken, Dinner, Entree, Recipes, French, Fallcaroline artissChicken & Poultry, FrenchComment