We’re still getting the hang of this French lifestyle, but let me tell you this…Lardon Rules! Hunks of lardon in omelettes, quiche and here in this recipe of Coq au Vin. It rounds out the mouthfulness of each dish as it adds that oh-so-satisfying fatty flavour.
And yes, you saw the video correctly, Kevin using a Fatty Trinity of olive oil, butter and lardons – Qu’est-ce que ce la problem?
This tasted amazing and was really easy (especially since I only had to make the salad dressing and set the table).
We started with the aforementioned salad and baguette, white asparagus in a Bernaise sauce and then…
Coq au Vin
(Serves two with some leftovers – serve with your favourite style of potatoes)
Two chicken legs and two thighs
10 pearl onions, or 1 onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 tablespoon butter + 1 more
1/2 bottle dry, robust red wine
1 tablespoon mixed dried herb de Provence
1 gloves garlic, crushed
1/4 pound mushrooms, sliced thickly
1/2 tablespoon flour
salt and pepper
Peel the pearl onions (chop if using regular onions). In heavy-bottomed pot, heat the olive oil and 1/2 tablespoon butter on medium heat until the butter melts. Cook the lardons and the onions (until they start to soften, around 7 minutes).
Remove onions and lardon mixture.
Salt and pepper chicken pieces and then brown them in the same pot that you used for the onion mixture. About 5 minutes per side.
Return the onion and lardon mixture to the pot with the chicken, add 1 tablespoon of herb de provence, the crushed garlic and enough wine to cover the chicken pieces (about 1/2 bottle of a robust red).
Cover & simmer for one hour.
Meanwhile melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a medium sized skillet on low heat. Cook the mushrooms for about ten minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and lightly browned.
Add the cooked mushrooms to the chicken at one hour and continue cooking the chicken a further 20 to 25 minutes.
About ten minutes before serving, make a roux by melting 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat, whisk in 1 tablespoon of flour and then add some of the hot sauce from the pot, whisking until smooth. Scrape roux back into pot and stir until well mixed. Stir occasionally until sauce is a little thicker and has a glossy sheen.
Pile chicken onto a warmed plate with perfectly roasted fingerling potatoes. Drink some red wine. Smile. Say something French.
it’s very very good !!!
a chef cuisinier français bientôt !
bravo
Merci Malika, Vous etes un chef cuisinier Maroc et Francais. Tres, tres bon!
Perhaps you two will need to come cycling with us after those
holy trinity meals. Greetings from Wesel.
Dear Cyclists, We’re going to need more than the odd bike ride to fix us up. Perhaps a few back-to-back marathons might be in order. Maybe if I’m plump I’ll have fewer wrinkles??
This sounds so amazing… ah well, I managed to ‘cure’ mackerel for the first time. Talk about fatty! Now I have to eat it all as no one else has the palate for it. Yikes! Now I’m wanting Coq au Vin, dammnit. Look what you’ve done.
Laurie, I’d eat the mackeral. Save some for moi, s’il-vous plait. Tonight we’re having tagine (cuisine Marocaine) as the caretaker/neighbour/restaunteur across the street runs a take-out kitchen. She (Malika) is wonderful. I’m betting her food is great too. And then, lookout! Kevin will be starring in another epic cooking show. Ha!
Love your video! What a perfect first recipe to post from France! But no cognac? My family counts on singed eyebrows with their French meals.
So jealous you can score those pearl onions and an herb grinder. Can’t wait to see what you’ll cook next!
Ah oui Michele. What were we thinking?!? You’re right about the cognac. Decided I didn’t want to film Kevin on fire and rolling himself in the rug. It would have been such a dilemma, put out the fire or film the action 🙂 We are definitely planning our next cooking show. Bought a recipe book here (in English of course!) It makes cooking dinner a whole new game.