Coq au Vin
A slightly simplified version of Julia Child’s classic recipe.
I cook this in a large saute pan (12″, 5 qt.). If you don’t have one, you can use a smaller frying pan to brown & saute, and then transfer everything to a large stew pot to finish cooking. You will need at least 3 utensils to make this dish: either a big saute pan and two smaller fry pans, or a big stew pan and 2 smaller fry pans. The stew pot or saute pan, and the onion pan, should have lids.
Ingredients:
- Eight chicken thighs (bone in)
- One sweet onion (Spanish or Vidalia), chopped.
- 1 or 2 stalks of celery, chopped.
- 1 or 2 carrots, chopped.
- 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, minced.
- 1 or 2 tablespoons tomato paste.
- a bottle of red wine (can be cheap but must be drinkable, better young than old)
- olive oil, butter, salt, pepper as needed
- chicken broth (a quart box should be enough)
Cooked separately and added later:
- a dozen or so small white onions.
- a pound or so of white mushrooms, cleaned and quartered.
Chop the sweet onion, celery, and carrots fairly fine – 1/4″ dice is about right. Set aside.
Peel the white onions & set aside (this is easier if you drop them in boiling water for a minute first).
Salt & pepper the chicken & brown the chicken in a little olive oil. Remove from saute pan (or transfer to stew pot).
Add the chopped vegetables to the saute pan. Mince and add the garlic. Saute gently (“sweat”) for about 10 minutes. They should be soft but should not brown. Add them to the stew pot, or add the chicken back to the saute pan.
Add the wine & bring to a boil. Stir in the tomato paste, add chicken broth as needed to cover, and bring back to a simmer. This will now cook for 35 to 40 minutes while you prepare the trimmings.
As soon as the chicken is in the pot, take a separate pan and saute the white onions in a little oil until they begin to brown. Add a little chicken broth, lower heat, and cover. These will be ready when the chicken is.
Finally, saute the mushrooms in a little butter for about 10 to 15 minutes. The secret here is to use fairly high heat & not crowd the pan – you want them to saute, not steam. When they’re done you can turn this pan off & set it aside.
From time to time, check the chicken, flip the pieces over at least once, and stir them around. Allow the sauce to reduce by about half, taste and add salt if you think it needs it. It will get somewhat thick, but you will probably want to add a little thickening agent. I use white flour, but if you want it gluten free you will need a substitute. Cornstarch is very easy to find but makes the sauce sort of shiny (it’s what’s used in Chinese stir fries). Potato starch is probably better if you can find it, or rice flour. Any of these is used in the same way: make a paste of 2 tablespoons of starch with an equal amount of cold water; then slowly stir it, a bit at a time, into the pot, until the sauce seems thick enough. The effect is not always immediate so I recommend you add you thickener gradually.
Finally, fold in the cooked onions and mushrooms, and serve with salad & a baguette.
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