10.07.2010

look like you spent two days in the kitchen: one-pan coq au vin

i think it's fairly clear from the cooking/writing/photographs on this blog, but in case you haven't yet picked up the subtle nuances: i have no actual culinary training. i didn't go to culinary school, i don't come from a family of professionals, and i've never been paid to make anything fancier than a latte and a sandwich. i'm just a girl who loves to cook (and really loves to eat), and i happen to have a gigantic kitchen and a crappy digital camera. unless i directly credit them, my recipes are my own bizarre creations - although i often get inspiration from television, films, and reading blogs and recipes online.

to that end: i wanted to make my husband a delicious celebratory meal, since he's leaving his past job and beginning a new and exciting one. however, as dearly as i love him, i didn't want to spend two days slaving over a coq au van when he'd never heard of the classic french dish before. i'd seen a quick-and-dirty version on bon appetit, and i knew i had my answer. what follows is my slightly adapted version, but here's my inspiration if you want a professional's opinion.



using one pan to cook all of the ingredients in allows the drippings from each ingredients to blend, so by the time things are done you've got tons of flavors. it also helps to keep the chicken really moist, and gives the sauce a lot of depth.

you will need:
3-4 large chicken breasts
4 slices bacon
4 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped - i used flat leaf italian
5 oz fresh mushrooms
1 small onion - you can also use shallots
about 8 cherry or plum tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
1 1/2 cups dry red wine
1 1/4 cups chicken stock
1/3 cup all purpose flour
salt and pepper to taste


begin by preheating the oven to a low setting - 275 or 300 degrees is fine. heat a large skillet over medium heat, and chop the bacon into small pieces. saute the bacon until it's nice and crispy.



once the bacon is browned and crisp, use a slotted spoon to remove from the pan and set aside until a bit later.

rinse the chicken breasts in cold water, and pat dry. save 4 tablespoons of the flour in a small bowl for later, and put the rest into another bowl. cover the chicken well with the flour so that it sticks to both sides, then sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper, and add the chicken to the skillet with the bacon fat. top with about half of the chopped parsley.


continue to cook the chicken breasts until they're golden brown and cooked through, about 6-7 minutes on each side.


remove the breasts from the pan and place them into a pie pan or pyrex dish.


cover these guys with aluminum foil and pop them into the preheated oven - just to keep them warm while you're preparing the rest of the sauce.

grab your mushrooms and onion and chop everything up into small pieces.


throw these into the same pan, and top with a bit more salt and pepper. saute them together for about 5 minutes, until they're a golden brown color.



press or finely chop the garlic, then add to the pan. let sautee for one minute, then add the wine, 1 cup of the chicken stock, the bacon, and the rest of the parsley.


let everything continue to heat up in the pan. dice the tomatoes and add them to the pan.


turn the heat up and let the sauce come to a boil, and keep it boiling for 10 minutes.

in a bowl, combine the flour and the last 1/4 cup of chicken stock. make sure they're well mixed together, then add to the sauce.

continue to cook the sauce, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thickened - another 5 minutes or so.


remove the chicken from the oven, and arrange on your plates or on a platter. stir any extra drippings from the pyrex baking dish into the sauce, then spoon over the chicken.

this is delicious with buttered vegetables, which is how i served it for us.




3 comments:

  1. Even if we aren't professionals (food professionals, that is), we certainly taught you how to eat! Amateurs rule! :-)

    ReplyDelete

thanks so much for reading!