I thought lady winter had forgotten all about us Texans. I was wrong. She just decided to pay us a late visit. Winters are hard, no doubt, even in this time and age when our homes are automatically heated with the flip of a button and our bodies are hugged by the warmth of fabric. This is the time the body is so lethargic, yet demands more from you. In short, I feel I am hungrier in winter than any other time of the year. And I’ve heard such is the case with most people. Unless you have the will power of an ox to keep away from comfort foods, that is.
Summer bodies are easier to feed. Cold fluids, light lunches, fresh fruit; such simple pleasures are all it takes. No such luck in winter. This is the time for something comforting. Foods that take a lot of time to prepare, stews and meats that have been simmering for a while, the flavors melding together and getting bolder every minute they spend in the pot.
I am no Julia Child protégée. Never will be. It may be sacrilegious to even mention her here. But I cannot help feel a bond. She never set out to be a chef, she was never one of those people who knew even as kids, while playing with their easy-bake ovens, that one day she would cook and teach others to cook. Her cooking was born more out of a need, a desire, rather late in her life, to try something new. Her methods were not authentic French to begin with, yet she rose to become an expert par doubt. Julia Child brought classic French cuisine to women around the world who had no clue. She taught that it is okay to deviate from the norm, try your own thing, as long as it had soul and made you happy.
On a particularly dreary winter afternoon, the thought of hearty cuts of chicken lightly browned, then simmered in wine and stock (braising) appealed immensely to me. Coq au vin may sound very intimidating, but it is very easy, trust me. I rarely if ever, have all the ingredients for something I’d like to try on hand. Like, for instance, bacon or a pound of pearl onions. But it can be done. That is why I called it an almost coq au vin.
You start by melting a little butter and browning seasoned cuts of chicken thighs. Then comes the mushrooms and onions. They must be browned lightly, so do not stir around a lot. Do not crowd the pan, so do it in batches if you have to. You need roux to help thicken the wine sauce. I have found it is better to do that in the initial stage of cooking. Adding a slurry of flour paste to an already well-reduced sauce never gave me good results.
Even if you do not have bacon, do not skimp on garlic and parsley. Bring some red wine and chicken stock to a boil, return the thighs to the pan, cover and simmer till thoroughly cooked and the sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon.
RED WINE-BRAISED CHICKEN AND MUSHROOMS {COQ AU VIN}
You will need:
- Chicken – 4 thigh pieces, skinless (I used bone-in)
- Salt – 1 tsp
- Black pepper powder – 1/2 tsp
- Parsley leaves – 3 tbsp, finely chopped, divided
- Butter – 3 tbsp, divided
- Button mushrooms – 1 lb, cut into thick pieces
- Onion – 1, roughly chopped
- Garlic – 4-5 cloves, crushed and chopped
- All purpose flour – 1 1/2 tbsp
- Red wine – 1 cup (Use your favorite wine, I used Moscato here)
- Chicken stock – 2 cups
How to:
- Wash and pat dry the chicken pieces. Season with salt and pepper on all sides. Also coat with 1 tbsp of chopped parsley leaves.
- In a large pan like a Dutch pot or deep non-stick pot, heat 1 tbsp of butter. Add chicken to the pot and sear for 2-3 minutes per side on high heat, to lightly brown the chicken pieces. Remove on to a plate and keep aside.
- Add the rest of the butter to the pan and fry the mushrooms till browned. Do not stir around too much and the mushrooms will brown more quickly. Then add the onions and garlic and saute for 4-5 minutes or till onions are lightly golden.
- Now add the flour, gently combine to coat the mushrooms and onions and cook on low-medium heat for a couple of minutes. Everything should be a pale brown color now.
- Increase the heat, add the wine and whisk well to combine. Then add the chicken stock and another tablespoon of chopped parsley and bring to a gentle boil. Let the sauce bubble away and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
- Return the browned chicken to the pot, cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes or till the chicken thighs are completely cooked and tender.
- Open the pot, check seasoning and reduce the sauce further to your liking.
- Garnish with the last tablespoon of chopped parsley and serve hot along with some warm buttered bread, pasta or polenta.
Notes:
- If you have bacon, brown the bacon bits initially before searing the chicken pieces. Return to pot along with chicken to simmer in the sauce.
- Use pearl onions or even shallots in place of regular onions. You can also add chopped carrots to the mix.
- You can use white wine instead of red, like a dry Riesling.
The chicken along with the mushrooms simmered in a robust red wine sauce turns out juicy, tender and full of earthy flavor. The parsley complements it perfectly, though you can always replace it with another herb of choice, like thyme or rosemary.
Do you have a more-than-usual hankering for comfort food in winter? Have you had coq au vin? What is your take on modifying classics to suit your taste and needs? Do share.
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Can you make this in advance.
Thanks
I don’t see why you couldn’t!
This was outstanding! I totally “won” girls lunch today! Do you think I could sub corn starch to thicken the sauce instead of flour to make it gluten free?
Awesome! So glad you liked it. You cannot make a roux with cornstarch, but you can add some corn starch dissolved in water to the sauce to thicken it. Let me know if you try it that way!
I ended up making this far sooner than I thought and oh my it was delicious, I have featured it today in the FF entry, here is the post:
http://eclecticoddsnsods.com/2015/01/16/red-wine-braised-chicken-mushrooms-as-anjana-says-nearly-coq-au-vin/
I hope you are having a lovely weekend so far, depending on your time zone and thank you for sharing this recipe 😀 xxx
Thank you, Justine. I appreciate the shout-out! Happy weekend to you too!!
and you too! 😀
What a lovely rich dish. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Hilda!
Lovely recipe and pictures. Coq au Vin is a favorite, sometimes I make it with white wine or cider or dry sherry, it’s a bit lighter that way. Sorry to hear about your allergies, so many of my friends are also sensitive and modifying recipes is essential.
Happy New Year!
Thank you. I am not the one with allergies, but one of my blogging buddy is and that’s how the above discussion of modifying recipes came about!
Yummm… I love coq au vin Anjana! The last time I made it, the munchkin loved it, but her tummy acted up a bit, maybe cos of the wine, so I have put off making it till she’s older. Your pics are drool-worthy 🙂
Thank you, Naina! It can be a bit heavy for younger kids I suppose.
Thank you so much for bringing these to the fiesta! I love how rich and flavorful this dish sounds. As for your questions, I most certainly cook more comfort food in the winter. However, I also work outside, so I need more hearty meals in the winter season. I also always modify classics to suit my taste and needs. I have celiac disease and seven food allergies, so that’s pretty much a daily occurrence in our house. However, we think of it as fun, and we have a pretty solid stock of recipes that we’ve modified by now. Happy 2015!
Thank you Kaila. I understand what you mean. Maybe we aren’t supposed to eat sparingly in winter. I am sorry to hear about your food allergies, but recipes are more of a guideline for us to modify as per our needs. That’s my opinion!
Yes, we love modifying recipes! We use so many recipes that weren’t defined for allergies and make slight modifications. 🙂
Exactly! I think we eat more heartily depending on our activity level. For example, my job involves exercising eight hours a day in the winter, but not in the summertime. However, my friends who are kayaking guides have to eat much more heavily in the summer. But, the warmness of hearty food is personally close to my heart in the wintertime when it’s cold outside. 🙂
A perfect classic for the cold!
Thank you!
yup yup this is on my to do list this looks fabulous thank you i am definitely saving this and when i get arond to cooking it will give you a shout out hehe xx
That’s awesome! I’d appreciate that!!
🙂
Looks so stylish and a perfect restaurant style dish!
Haha! Thanks dear!!
This looks really good, especially the sauce. I would love to take a good piece of bread and dip into it 🙂
Thank you. It is quite easy too, just needs a little time for the chicken to get tender and the sauce to be reduced.
Love this – even without bacon, sounds delish. And your photos – always so beautiful!
Thank you so much 🙂
I totally love everything about this recipe! Thank you for sharing!
Ooo, definitely a treat for a cold, wintery day. I love coq au vin too and even made it in the slow cooker just recently. Where in Texas are you? We lived there for 8 years too. I do love winter meals more than I do summer salads and such. There is just so much to make that is soul-satisfying isn’t there?
Oh my! This not only looks incredible but I have all the ingredients to make it right now! Guess what we’ll be eating this week? I’d love it if you’d share this at Reviews, Chews & How-Tos for our first Awesome Life Friday Link Up http://rchreviews.blogspot.com/2015/01/awesome-life-friday-no-1.html
Thanks Linda. I hope you do try it and thanks for the invite!
Phew, this couldn’t look tastier! I could drool over these pictures all day- GREAT job, I reallllyy want a bite. I’m definitely saving this one to try!
Thanks a lot, Stephanie. It is a great one-pot meal for the season!
a perfect wintery number to bring along to FF!! Thanks!
Thanks for visiting, Mr.Fitz! Happy new year!!
You too!
lovely dish
Thanks Dhanya!