Coq au Vin

Ingredients

• 8 bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks
• 150g smoked bacon lardons
• 250g button mushrooms, halved
• 250g shallots or baby onions, peeled
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tablespoons plain flour
• 500ml red wine
• 300ml chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 thyme sprigs
• 2 tablespoons butter
• Salt and black pepper

Before you cook

• Pat the chicken dry and season it well on all sides.
• Peel the shallots, leaving the root ends intact so they hold together.
• Tie the thyme and bay together with string for easy removal.

Steps

1. Fry the lardons in a heavy casserole until the fat renders and they crisp, then lift them out.
2. Brown the chicken in the bacon fat in batches, skin side first, until deeply coloured, then set aside.
3. Fry the shallots and mushrooms in the same pot until golden.
4. Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook for a minute.
5. Sprinkle over the flour and stir for two minutes to cook it out.
6. Pour in the wine, scraping up everything stuck to the base, and let it bubble for 5 minutes.
7. Return the chicken and bacon, add the stock and herbs, and bring to a bare simmer.
8. Cover and cook gently for an hour, until the chicken is falling from the bone.
9. Lift out the chicken and reduce the sauce over high heat until it coats a spoon.
10. Whisk in the butter off the heat, remove the herbs, and return the chicken to the pot.