Coq au vin by Angela Seah Thulin

Our New Year's dinner!! Strongly recommend you to try out this dish. We all loved it and before i knew it, all the plates were emptied! 

Coq au vin (translate from french: ''rooster/cock with wine'') is a traditional french dish that is made by braising chicken with wine, broth, bacon and mushrooms until its soft and tender.

Ingredients -
4 strips of bacon, diced it to smaller strips
13g butter
3 big chicken thighs with skin on
1 carrot cut into bigger chunk, about 100g
150g button mushroom, quartered
1 big yellow onion, diced
1/4 tsp dried thyme
160ml chicken broth (I used 160ml water with 1/2 chicken knorr cube)
60ml red wine
1 - 2 garlic cloves (9g)
1 tbsp tomato paste
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 dried bay leaf
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Using the baguette to dip with the sauce, sooo yummy!

Steps - 
1. Rub the chicken thighs with salt and then wash off and pat dry. Season them with salt and pepper.
2. Using oven safe casserole (I used Le Creuset 22cm with stainless steel knob), melt the butter first and then pan fried the bacon until crispy. Remove the bacon to paper towel and keep the fats in the pot.
3. In the same pot, sear both sides of the chicken thighs till nicely browned. Then remove the thighs and set them aside.
4. In the same pot, sauté the carrot, mushrooms and onions until onion turn translucent then add 1/4 tsp dried thyme in. Mix well.
5. Deglaze the pot now by adding red wine and half of the chicken broth (80ml) in and cook for a minute. Stir. Then add the rest of the chicken broth, garlic cloves, tomato paste, sprigs of thyme, bay leaf and salt. Stir to mix well.
6. After it comes to a gentle boil, add worcestershire sauce in.

Preheat oven to 175 degree celsius

7. Lower your heat to simmer. Add the crispy bacon back in, stir. Then add the seared chicken thighs back in too with skin side up. Scoop some sauce over the chicken. Cover with lid.
8. Into the preheated oven and bake for 45mins or until chicken thighs are tender. Done, garnish with more fresh thyme! 

Serve with mashed potatoes, pasta or crusty baguette. Yumzzz!

Notes -
1. When i made this the third time (when i invited my mother-in-law over) with double up portion, i did not double up the dried thyme, tomato paste, garlic, bay leaves, salt and even omit worcestershire sauce. But i used more fresh sprigs of thyme and added few more bacons. It was absolutely delicious too!!! 

Mushroom tartlets and raspberry cookies