Sunday, March 16, 2008

nigel slater's coq au riesling

butter
olive oil
streaky bacon or pancetta, diced
2 small-medium onions, diced
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
4 joints of free range chicken on the bone (i bought a package of legs and a package of thighs)
1 "packse" of small brown mushrooms, halved or quartered (depending on their size)
1 bottle of riesling (or other dry white wine)
1 pint of cream
3 T chopped parsley

that's the original recipe. however, the one in the picture is a bit different. i am an advocate of throwing in what you have around the house. what looks like potatoes in the picture below are actually a few jerusalem artichokes, because we got them in our box and aren't that fond of them otherwise, but they took on the flavor of the wine "soup" and were delicious in here. i didn't have any bacon and so left it out--that was ok, but it is yummy with the smokiness of bacon. i also added a vegetable bouillon cube for saltiness and flavor because it seemed a little bland (probably because i was missing bacon and didn't manage to find organic chicken).

you sauteƩ up the onions and garlic 'til they are soft. throw in the chicken pieces and brown them. then, pour the wine over it 'til they're covered (i used not quite a whole bottle). throw in the mushrooms and the jerusalem artichokes (or potatoes or whatever) and let it simmer away for at least an hour and preferably 2+). when i make it inside, i put it in the oven on 150 (that's probably around 275 to you). you put the cream in towards the end, tho' i don't imagine it would hurt if you did it earlier. you can sprinkle the parsley over it when you serve it, but it's not really necessary. i threw in a few sage leaves because i have them in the garden. that was good. and i steamed the asparagus on top for the last 10-15 minutes. that was also heavenly.

it can't go wrong. if you don't put potatoes IN it, you could bake a potato and serve it with that. ours yesterday was very much like soup and we ate it out of bowls, but that sauce would be very good over a baked potato.

good luck. we're eating our leftovers tonight. it's going to taste even better.

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