Coq au Vin

Translated literally, Coq au vin means Rooster with wine.  As the name implies, the dish was originally made with Rooster rather than the nowadays easier to obtain chicken. Packed with flavour, it tastes absolutely spectacular and as recipes go is a true French classic that is relatively cheap to make.

Ingredients

For the Coq au Vin
1 - 1.5kg Chicken cut into 8 pieces or 1.5kg Chicken drumsticks and wings
250g Bacon sliced
10 - 12 French shallots
250g Mushrooms quartered
1 tsp oil
1 litre chicken stock
125ml Brandy
2 tbsp Tomato paste
1 1/2 tbsp softened butter
1 tbsp flour
Salt, Pepper to taste
1 tbsp chopped parsley

For the Marinade
1 bottle Red wine
125ml Port wine
1 carrot sliced
1 Rosemary sprig
1 Onion studded with Cloves
2 Bay leaves
5 whole peppercorns

For the Beurre Manie
20g butter
 20g flour

Directions

Prepare the marinade; put the chicken into a bowl, add the wine, Port, carrots, bay leaves, rosemary, onions, cloves and peppercorns. Cover and leave to marinate for at least three hours but preferably overnight.

After the marinating time has passed, drain the chicken making sure to reserve the marinade, pat dry the chicken. Discard the carrots, bay leaves, rosemary and onions. Season the chicken with the salt and pepper.

Sauté the diced bacon until golden in a frying pan before putting aside on a plate.

Using the same pan, melt a third of the butter, add the shallots and sauté until slightly browned before setting aside.

Again, using the same pan, melt another third of the butter; add the mushrooms and sauté for 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Add the remaining butter and oil to the frying pan, add the chicken and sauté until golden and stir in the flour.

Transfer the chicken to a casserole dish and add the stock.

Pour the brandy into the frying pan and boil, stirring to deglaze the pan before pouring the brandy and juices over the chicken.

Add the reserved marinade, shallots, mushrooms, bacon and tomato paste.

Cook over moderate heat for 45 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.

If after the 45 minutes the sauce needs thickening, lift out the chicken and bring the sauce to the boil.

In a saucepan, mix together butter and flour to make a beurre manie and whisk into the sauce.

Boil, stirring until the sauce thickens.  Return the chicken to the sauce and add the parsley.

To serve, lay down a bed of mashed potato and arrange the Coq au Vin on top or beside it.

Notes:
In days gone by rather than using a beurre manie, the sauce was thickened using the blood of the rooster used in the dish.

Preperation time: 45 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time including marinating: 4 hours 30 min
Recipe By Tatiana, Flavoursome Delights