10 Coq au vin Paul Robinson

Coq au vin

20 minutes marinate: 2 hours cook: 45-55 minutes
4 people

Ingredients

for the coq au vin

1 Norfolk chicken, cut into 10 pieces

(breasts cut in half, thighs, drumsticks and wings with the tips removed)

500ml red wine

25g butter

150g shallots, peeled

5 garlic cloves, peeled and

finely chopped

150g Woodall’s Black Combe

air-dried ham, cut into strips

1 sprig of fresh thyme

350g button chestnut

mushrooms, washed

500ml fresh chicken stock

2 tbsps balsamic vinegar

sea salt & black pepper

for the ultimate mash

1kg Maris Piper potatoes, peeled and chopped into evenly-sized pieces

90g clotted cream

100g unsalted butter

sea salt & white pepper

to serve

1 small bunch flat leaf parsley,

roughly chopped

Method

To cook the coq au vin, marinate the chicken pieces in the red wine for 2 hours. Pre-heat the oven to 170°C /325°F/gas mark 3. Heat a thick-bottomed casserole dish on a medium to high heat, add the butter and the shallots and cook until just brown and caramelised. Add the garlic, ham and thyme and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Drain the red wine from the chicken and keep to one side. Add the mushrooms to the pan, then the red wine used for the marinade, chicken stock and vinegar and bring to a gentle simmer. Add the chicken pieces and bring the sauce back to the simmer. Once simmering, season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper and place the lid on the dish and put in the oven for about 40 minutes or until the chicken is tender and cooked through.

To make the ultimate mash, place the potatoes in a pan of cold water with a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes until very tender. Whilst the potatoes are cooking heat up the cream and butter with a pinch of salt and pepper; when the butter has melted, stir in and remove from the heat. When the potato is cooked pass through a ricer into a bowl. Mix the butter and cream mixture through and again season to taste with salt and pepper.

To serve, sprinkle the chopped parsley on top of the coq au vin and serve in a bowl with some ultimate mashed potato.