Coq au Vin

Ingredients

2 x 1.5kg chickens
60g butter
200g bacon (finely diced)
16 spring onions
24 button mushrooms (halved)
750ml red wine (1 bottle)
750ml chicken stock

2 small garlic cloves (crushed)
Bouquet garni (1 bay leaf, 1 sprig each of thyme and parsley and 1 stick of celery tied together with string)
Salt and Pepper

60g butter (for the sauce)
60g plain flour
Chopped parsley (for garnish)

Method

1 Cut each chicken into 8 pieces and marinade in red wine, with a little thyme as well. Marinade for as long as possible, overnight is good. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels before frying.

2 Brown the chicken pieces on both sides in a large frying pan with half the butter. Only brown a couple of pieces at a time. An overcrowded pan will stew rather than brown the chicken pieces.

3 Once browned, move the chicken pieces into a casserole dish, one which has a tight fitting lid preferably.

4 Add the remaining butter and fry the bacon, spring onions and mushrooms, stirring constantly, allowing them to brown evenly all over. This will take about 10 minutes.

5 Remove the bacon mixture with a slotted spoon and place over the chicken in the casserole dish. Save the remnants in the pan for the next step.

6 Add the chicken stock and wine to the remnants in the pan. Bring to a boil and allow the mixture to reduce for 10-15 minutes, scrapping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon so that the juice takes up the flavours from the remnants.

7 Pour the wine mixture over the chicken. Add the bouquet garni, salt, pepper, and crushed garlic.

8 Cover and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180-degree Celcius (350F) for one hour, until the chicken is tender. Remove the bouquet garni and discard. Lift out all the solid ingredients and place them on a serving dish.

9 Keep the dish warm while you make the sauce.

10 Skim all the fat from the remaining liquid in the casserole dish. Bring the liquid to the boil. Separately mix the softened butter and flour together, then gradually whisk this mixture into the boiling liquid.

11 When it starts to thicken, remove from the heat and spoon over the chicken, mushrooms, onions and bacon on the serving dish.

Sprinkle with chopped parsley, then serve and enjoy!