Coq Au Vin

french for chicken with wine
This is a tried and tested recipe. The recipe was given to me by my boss's wife, who loves to cook and knows her french foods very well. I made this for a Christmas party in 2008 and it was a big hit! The best part of it all is that the flavour of the dish improves if it is made the day before consumption. This leaves you free to prepare the rest of the food on the party day.

1.5 kg chicken
3 tablespoons oil or butter
4 bacon rashers cut into strips
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
16 whole baby onions, skin peeled
1.5 cups of dry red wine
1 cup of chicken stock
2-3 tablespoons of brandy
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
250 gm baby mushrooms
1 tablespoon of plain flour
2 tablespoons of water
1 bouquet garni (a sachet or a bunch of herbs)

Use a deep frying pan or a deep saucepan. Brown chicken pieces in oil or butter until golden brown all over. Set them aside. Drain all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the pan. Add the crushed garlic, onions and bacon to the frying pan. Fry until the onions are nicely browned. You will find the onions will roll around the pan as you fry them. Stir in wine, chicken stock, brandy, bouquet garni and the tomato paste. Add in the chicken pieces and bring the pot to a boil. Once it starts to boil, cover the pot and reduce the heat to simmer for 30 to 40 minutes. Add the mushrooms and simmer uncovered for another 10 minutes or until chicken is tender and a thin film of red oil has formed along the sides of the pan. Push the chicken to one side of the pan. Stir in blended flour in water and stir constantly in the bubbling sauce until the mixture boils and thickens. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

If the coq au vin is made the night before, keep it in the fridge and heat it on the stove again until it is warmed through. A hearty meal and the best part is mopping up all the delicious sauce with bread! :)