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Ah, who can resist Coq Au Vin? Warm and so French. Close your eyes, take a bite, and pretend you are in your favorite Parisian bistro. Now, add some Herby Dumplings to the mix, and you are literally transported to the Paris.

Or so it felt two Saturdays ago as we enjoyed each bite. This is a classic recipe given that herby twist, a trademark of Gizzi Erskine. You’ll want to look at all her books or, more likely, take them home and cook away.

We cooked all our Superbowl weekend meals out of Gizzi’s Kitchen Magic. And I’ll post a cake and her sticky chicken wings on Friday and Saturday. I can assure you that these are perfect recipes: follow them as written and you get culinary perfection.

Chicken normally pairs with white wine but you’ve already used half a bottle of red in this chicken dish. So, finish that bottle. Or, open another!

Yes, it tastes like chicken. But, chicken as it is supposed to taste.

Do use fresh veggies. Heritage carrots, as shown above, add color and a little zip.


 

Coq Au Vin with Herby Dumplings

Yield: serves 4

Ingredients:

For the chicken:

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 8 free-range chicken thighs, boned, skinned and halved
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 16 baby button mushrooms
  • 4 rashers of smoked streaky bacon, cut into lardons
  • 2 banana shallots, peeled and finely sliced
  • 1 large carrot, peeled and finely diced
  • 3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
  • 1 tablespoon plain white flour
  • 1 tablespoon tomato puree
  • 600ml red wine
  • 300ml chicken stock
  • 1 bouquet garni (bay leaves, fresh thyme and fresh parsley, tied into a bundle)

For the dumplings:

  • 100g self-rising flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 ½ teaspoons olive oil
  • Small handful of fresh parsley, chopped
  • 3 teaspoons snipped fresh chives
  • 60ml semi-skimmed milk

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large, heavy-based, lidded casserole. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Brown in the pan in two batches for 4 minutes on each side, then set aside. Throw in the mushrooms and cook in the remaining oil for 5 minutes, or until golden. (If the pan appears dry, add a little boiling water and scrape the bottom of the pan to pick up any chickeny residue.) Set the mushrooms aside with the chicken.

Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan. Add the bacon and fry over a high heat for 2 minutes. Reduce the heat and add the shallots and carrot. Cover them with the lid and sweat over a low heat for 10 minutes, adding the garlic to the pan for the last minute. Add the plain flour and tomato puree and stir, coating the vegetables for 1 minute.

Gradually pour in the wine, stirring as you go to emulsify the sauce. Add the stock, chicken, mushrooms and bouquet garni and stir through. Place in the oven and cook, covered, for 1 hour, stirring halfway through the cooking time.

To make the dumplings, mix all the ingredients together and shape into 8 small balls. For the last 20 minutes of the casserole cooking time, add the dumplings and cover with the lid. They will double in size during cooking. Remove the lid for the last5 minutes’ cooking time so that they become golden on top.


Source: Gizzi’s Kitchen Magic by Gizzi Erskine [Virgin Digital, 2012]

Photo Information [Top]: Canon T2i, EFS 60mm Macro Lens, F/4.5 for 1/50th second at ISO‑800

Photo Information [Bottom]: Canon T2i, EFS 60mm Macro Lens, F/4.5 for 1/15th second at ISO‑3200