Coq au Vin Recipe

Coq au vin - is it one of those recipes that you have long heard about but thought it would be far too difficult to make?

Well, the truth is out now, because in this recipe you will see that it is really quite easy.

The ingredients come together like a dream and cook together into a wonderful mixture of chicken, vegetables and wine.

It's one of the nicest chicken recipes for company, but serve it any day you have time to let your chicken simmer for a while.

You will see that fancy French cooking doesn't have to be fancy after all.

Coq Au Vin

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 35 minutes

4 slices bacon
1/4 cup butter
2 broiler-fryer chickens, cut into quarters
16 small white onions
16 large mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch scallions, cleaned and cut into 1" pieces
1/4 cup flour
3 cups dry red table wine
2 chicken bouillon cubes dissolved in 1 cup boiling water
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf

Cut bacon in small pieces. Place in Dutch oven, or other deep cooking pot, over medium heat. Cook until bacon is crispy. Remove bacon pieces and reserve. Place butter in Dutch oven with bacon fat. Brown chicken pieces well on all sides. Remove chicken pieces and reserve.

Peel onions, but leave whole. Clean mushrooms and leave whole. Place onions and mushrooms in hot drippings in Dutch oven and brown lightly. Remove onions and mushrooms. Pour off drippings in pan, leaving about 2 tablespoons in pan. Add garlic and green onion.

Cook over medium heat until onion is limp. Stir in flour and cook over medium heat about 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until flour is lightly browned. Remove from heat and stir in wine and chicken bouillon. Return to heat and cook, stirring, until mixture comes to a boil. Season with salt, pepper and thyme. Add bay leaf. Add bacon bits, chicken pieces, onion and mushrooms. Cover tightly and simmer 30 to 45 minutes or until chicken is tender. Remove bay leaf.

Makes 8 servings.

• Add 1 cup of chopped carrots to the mixture for extra color and nutrition.

• If you prefer to use fresh herbs, instead of adding the 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme to the pot before simmering, leave it out until the end and add 1 tablespoon of fresh chopped thyme.