Coq au Vin
	1.50 kg    Chicken pieces   125 g    bacon   60 g    butter   1.50 Tbs    oil   3 Tbs    plain flour   2 cloves    garlic   1 sprig    bouquet garni   2 cups    red wine     salt     pepper   8   pickling onions   8 small    button mushrooms   2 Tbs    brandy   1.50 Tbs    tomato paste   1 meduim    onion   2 cups    chicken stock     1 Prep: Cut bacon into 2cm x 1cm strips. Finely chop garlic and onion If possible, marinate the chicken in the red wine and bouquet garni overnight. 2 In a heavy, cast-iron pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat and add the bacon. Cook bacon until golden and remove from the pan. Pat the chicken pieces dry and lightly dust with half the flour. Fry the chicken pieces 3 or 4 at a time until they start to change colour. Remove from the pan. 3 Add the chopped onion and cook for 1 minute. Add the garlic and the brandy and cook until all the liquid has evaporated. Stir in the rest of the flour and tomato paste. Deglaze the pan with the reserved wine and bouquet garni and reduce the liquid by half. 4 Return the chicken to the pan and add enough stock to cover the chicken pieces. Bring to the boil, cover then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. While the chicken is cooking, blanch the baby onions in salted boiling water for 8 minutes. Sauté the blanched onions with the mushrooms in 20g of the butter for about 4 minutes. After the chicken has been simmering for 30 minutes, add the onions and mushrooms and cook for further 10 minutes. Remove the chicken and vegetable with a slotted spoon. Remove the bouquet garni and boil the pan vigorously to reduce by almost half. Cut the remaining butter into small cubes and whisk into the sauce one piece at a time. 5 Place the chicken and vegetables into the storage dish and strain the sauce over. Reheat in moderately slow oven for 30 minutes stirring once. If desired serve a handful of boiled new potatoes and a fresh green salad.   Servings: 4    Recipe Type chicken,wines,french,   Copyright © 2006, The Gourmet Saint