Entertain at home: Coq au vin

Typically a red Burgundy wine is used and the dish therefore also works exceptionally well with Leopard’s Leap Burgundy-inspired Culinaria Pinot Noir! 

You’ll need: For the red wine marinade - 750 ml Leopard’s Leap Culinaria Pinot Noir; 3 sprigs of thyme; 1 bay leaf; 5 parsley stalks; 1 celery stick, chopped; 1 carrot, peeled and chopped; 1 onion, peeled and chopped; 3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed; 1,5kg free-range chicken; salt and black pepper; olive oil; 100g thick-cut bacon, cut into lardons; 10 small shallots, peeled (or 3 red onions, peeled halved); butter; 250g button mushrooms; 2 cloves of garlic, peeled; 60ml Cognac (Brandy); 300ml brown chicken stock; thyme; flour 

Garnish – 50g bacon; 100g forest mushrooms; parley leaves, roughly chopped 

How to:  

Pour the wine into a heavy-based sauce pot. Add the thyme, bay leaf, parsley, celery, carrot, onion, and garlic and cook over medium heat until it has reduced by half. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. 

Joint the chicken into 8 portions, and place in a large bowl. Pour the red wine marinade over and take care to evenly coat the chicken. Cover and place in the fridge to marinate overnight. 

Preheat the oven to 180°C. 

Strain the wine and reserve it for later use, and set the chicken aside. Discard the vegetables and herbs. Dry the chicken on kitchen paper and season with salt and black pepper. 

Heat olive oil in a cast-iron casserole, seal the chicken pieces on both sides until golden brown, and remove and set aside. Sauté the bacon until crispy and golden brown, and drain on kitchen paper. 

Sauté the shallots in butter and olive oil, add the mushrooms and garlic and cook until golden. Drain any excess fat and deglaze the casserole with Cognac, add the chicken pieces, bacon, red wine marinade, stock and thyme. Cover and place in the oven, cook for an hour or until tender. 

If the sauce is not thick enough, drain off into a saucepot. Thicken with a paste made of a small amount of flour and some of the red wine sauce. Return the sauce to the casserole. 

Garnish with crispy bacon, sautéed forest mushrooms and parsley. 

Serve with the 2016 Culinaria Pinot Noir. 

*Recipe and image by https://leopardsleap.co.za/