Coq au vin.

Now if you want to know what is so good about French cooking then all you have to do is make this and you know.  I know that that might seem like a very extreme statement to make but for me this is the classic and iconic French dish. You have to make this with good wine good chicken and bacon and a little time and love.  You cannot just bang it al in the pan and expect it to work, this is some thing that you have to work at. But in the end when you taste the finished result them you will kno that it was all worth it

You will need

1 bottle good-quality red wine 

1 small chopped onion

2 sticks chopped celery

1 chopped carrot

4 garlic cloves

3-4 sprigs fresh thyme

2 bay leaves

For the stew

1 large chicken

100g/3½oz smoked pancetta, or dry cured smoked streaky bacon

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp plain flour

25g/1oz butter

20 button onions, peeled  

20 button mushrooms

3 tbsp cognac

olive oil, for shallow frying

4 thick slices white bread

Chopped fresh parsley

First you have to make your marinade . Take your bottle good-quality red wine, now if you cannot drink it then you cannot cook with it, chopped onion, chopped celery, chopped carrot, garlic cloves, fresh thyme and bay leaves and mix in a saucepan. Bring this to the boil then simmer and let it reduce.  Once it has reduced slightly about one third has gone take it off the heat and staring through a sieve. Let it cool before you add the chicken and then let it marinade for 8 hours or over night.

As for your chicken take one whole chicken and cut in to 8 joints legs, thighs, and cut the barest in half with the wing at one end.  Also you have to remove the skin.  

Now that your chicken has marinade, you can start to cook the finished dish.  Heat up  some olive oil in a casserole dish. Now gently fry the pancetta or bacon until golden-brown, make sure you have removed the rind and cut into large cubes. Then remove just the cooke meat with a spoon and set to one side.

Now take the chicken from the marinade and season  with salt and freshly ground black pepper then dredge  with flour.  Now in the casserole dish fry them until a good golden-brown colour, them remove and set them with the bacon.

Now in the casserole dish add the butter button onions and mushrooms fry gently for about  10 to 15 minutes, or until golden-brown.

Now return the chicken and bacon back to the cooking pot, turn up the heat .Then pour over the cognac let it heat a little and set alight.  Let the flames die down and add the rest of the red wine marinade.

Now either simmer on the stovetop on a very low heat for about 1 hour or cook in a preheated oven set at 170c/325f.  Once cooked add a good hand full of parsley chopped on to the dish

Finally to garnish the dish take 4 thick slices white bread remove the crusts and cut into triangles.  Fry them in a little oil until they go light brown, and then arrange them around the side of the dish as you serve it in a bowl.