Coq au Vin

A taste of France… from Home!

7

A hearty stew

Coq au vin translates to “rooster with wine” and is an age-old stew hailing from the French countryside.

Typically the stew is cooked for many hours, to soften the tough rooster meat and enhance the flavour. You can still get the full flavour with chicken by marinating the chicken in the wine and herbs for 12–24 hours, simmering the final stew on low for an extra 30 minutes or even making the stew a day ahead to give the flavours extra time to mix.

Prep Time: 30min

Cook Time: 1hr 30min

Total Time: 2hr

Serves: 4

Ingredients

  • 1kg chicken thighs
  • 4 x slices of bacon
    cut into strips
  • 6 x baby brown pickling onions
    cut in half
  • 200g white or brown mushrooms
    cut in half
  • 1 large carrot
    peeled and chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves
    crushed
  • ¼ cup flour
  • Cooking oil, as needed
  • Salt & pepper
  • 1 cup low-sodium chicken stock
  • 2 cups dry red wine
  • 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
  • 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
    or 1 teaspoon of dried thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
    fresh or dried
  • 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parlsey
    optional, to serve
  • Mashed potato
    to serve

Method

Step 1
Cook bacon strips in a large dutch oven or heavy-based saucepan. Remove bacon from pan, leaving the fat.

Step 2
Season chicken with salt, pepper and coat with flour. Cook in batches until browned, using the pan with bacon fat. Add more oil if needed. Remove cooked chicken from pan.

Step 3
Add onions, mushrooms and carrots to the pan and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes or until the onions start to soften.

Step 4
Add garlic to the pan and cook for about 1 minute or until fragrant.

Step 5
Add stock, wine, tomato paste, thyme and bay leaf. Stir to combine.

Step 6
Add chicken and bacon back into the pan. Bring to the boil.

Step 7
Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 35 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce thickens. If needed, add a little flour to help the sauce thicken.

Step 8
Remove and discard thyme springs and bay leaf.

Step 9
Serve with mashed potato, fresh parley and enjoy with a glass of French red wine.