Now this is one of my facourite recipes. We used to go to this really cheap but good bistro in The Angel in London called Le Mercury. You could get a starter and a main course for under 20 quid which was a bargain in London. It was in a very old rickety Victorian house and was a double story building building. Tables and chairs were so close together that you could smell what the guy at the next table had for lunch. But it all made for part of the charm. The walls were crooked and the floors were creaky, the fire was constantly on the go and the lighting was ambient. The best restaurant in winter, ever! It was here that I first tasted coq au vin.
Coq au vin is French for chicken in wine. I am not the biggest 'cooking your food in wine' fan but dish really is sublime. There are different variations of coq au vin but the staple ingredients always remain the same (unless you are me and you are adapting the dish for 'the healthier eater'), they are chicken, wine, lardons (thick-cut cubed bacon) and garlic. The coq au vin recipe I am giving you has been adjusted for maximum flavour and health. I don't like bacon because it fatty, so in this case I have swapped the bacon for chopped anchovies. I know that sounds mad and there are loads of people who do not like anchovies...but, you can't taste them in the dish and they are a good salty substitute for the bacon. Italians frequently put anchovies in meet dishes to balance the flavour and salt the dish, anchovies work especially well in lamb casseroles. But feel free to use lardons if you like. If you can't find lardons in the store, chop up some thick cut, streaky bacon into cubes.
Another thing to no is that the slower and longer you cook this dish, the better it tastes and the longer it left after it has cooked, the better it tastes. So if you are having people over on Sunday, make it on Saturday and watch your guests polish off the lot! And for those of you who do not know what a bouquet garni is, please refer to the previous blog.
Ingredients
tablesoon of butter butter
150g/5½oz shallots, peeled but left whole (if you can't find shallots, use red onion that has been coarsely chopped)
5 garlic cloves, crushed
6 chopped anchovy fillets or 150g streaky bacon, cut thickly or
bouquet garni (4 sprigs of each herb)
I punnet button mushrooms
4 carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds
2 celery sticks which have been chopped
500ml good red wine (REMEMBER: IF YOU WON'T DRINK IT, DON'T COOK WITH IT)
500ml chicken stock (2 cubes)
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 free range chicken, cut into 8 serving pieces, on the bone but skin removed
small bunch flatleaf parsley, chopped
salt and crushed black pepper
Preparation method
Heat a thick-bottomed casserole dish on the stove (a medium heat or you'll burn the butter)
Add the shallots. Cook until just browned; then stir in the garlic.
Add carrots and celery and stir everything together.
Add the bacon or anchovies and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Add the mushrooms, turn up the heat and add the red wine, chicken stock and vinegar.
Add the chicken pieces, bring the sauce to the boil and then simmer gently for about 25 minutes or until the chicken is tender and cooked through.
Add your bouquet garni
Put into a preheated oven of 140 degrees and slow cook for 2 hours.
Remove and eat or put in the fridge for 24 hours
Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper
Sprinkle over chopped parsley and serve with a dressed green salad and good bread.
Take your bouquet garni out before serving
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