Coq au vin (rooster in red wine) is a classic French stew and one of the most delicious.
This hearty dish full of flavors, which the chicken is braised in rich red wine sauce cooked with pearled onion, earthy mushrooms, carrots and thick cut crispy smoky bacon is a must-try dish.
This famous chicken dish does need some patience and preparation but it is worth all the time. My tip to whoever wants to try this recipe is to soak the chicken in red wine and herbs over night, that way the chicken will be more flavorful.
INGREDIENTS:
1 bottle of dry wine (750 ml)
1 whole organic chicken cut to pieces
3 ounces thick cut smoked bacon
½ pound small mushroom
1 bouquet garni (1 bay leaf, 3 thyme sprigs, 1 rosemary, basil leaf)
1 carrots peels and diagonally cut to 1 inch piece
4 cloves garlic minced
1 onion chopped
3 tablespoons tomato paste
3 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt/ freshly ground pepper to taste
2 cups Chicken stock or water
Short pasta (optional)
STEPS:
Cover the chicken in red wine, add bay leaf, parsley stems, thyme and rosemary sprigs and let it marinated overnight in the fridge.
Drain the chicken and dry with paper towel, season generously with salt and pepper.
Heat oil in a large pan over high heat and start searing the chicken until the skin is crispy brown, then set aside.
In the same pan, over medium high heat cook the bacon until crisp, then discard all the excess fat and transfer to paper towel.
Cook the chopped onion until translucent, add the mushroom and pearl onion and cook for about 5 minutes, then add the carrots, chopped garlic add the flour stirring frequently as well as scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
Add the seared chicken back to the pot, the bacon, the red wine, the chicken stock, tomato paste and the bouquet Garni.
Reduce heat to medium high and let simmer for about 1:30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.
Add short cooked pasta and garnish with chopped parsley.
If you desire thicker sauce, transfer the chicken to a plate and set the pot over medium high heat and let simmer until the desired thickness.
