The Good Life France Magazine




The Good Life France Magazine brings you the best of France - inspirational and exclusive features, fabulous photos, mouth-watering recipes, tips, guides, ideas and much more...


Published by the award winning team at The Good Life France

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2 years ago

Issue No.26

Recipes and wine

Recipes and wine matchesCoq au VinThere’s a legend in France that the Coq au Vin recipe goes back to the Romans. The story goesthat in 52 BC Julius Caesar arrived in France with his armies, intent on victory over the Gallictribes. One of the Gallic chiefs sent Caesar a cockerel, meant to taunt him, a symbol of Gallicaggressiveness and bravery. Caesar who clearly had no respect for cocky symbols, had the birdcooked in wine. And promptly conquered the Gallic forces.There’s no proof this is true and apparently there are no cookery books listing coq au vin as arecipe before the 19th century. But it could be true! Every region seems to have their ownversion and so does every French cook.Whole chicken is traditional but you can alsouse 4 chicken breasts for ease½ Bottle of red wineBay leafSpring of thyme100g bacon (1 oz) or lardons30 g butter10 picking onions (small onions)125g button mushroomsTeaspoon oil½ litre chicken stock60ml brandy15g plain flour1 tsp tomato pureeTablespoon chopped parsley

Joint the chicken into 4 pieces or use 4 chicken breasts. Put the chicken pieces in a bowlwith the wine, bay leaf, thyme, pinch of salt and pepper. Cover the bowl and marinadeovernight in the fridge.Dice the bacon and fry gently until just golden then put to one side.In the pan, melt quarter of the butter and fry the mushrooms with salt and pepper then addto the bacon.Then fry the onions in a little butter until soft and browned and put with the mushrooms andbacon.Drain the chicken and keep the marinade. Pat the pieces dry with kitchen towel, season withsalt and pepper and fry in the remaining butter and oil. When both sides are golden, stir inthe flour.Then put the chicken in a large saucepan and add the chicken stock and deglaze the fryingpan with the brandy – bring it to the boil for about 30 seconds. Then pour it over thechicken with the marinade and fried mushrooms, bacon and onions plus the tomato puree.Leave to cook on the oven top for about 45 minutes on a gentle heat.When ready to serve, stir in the parsley.Mop up the sauce with a hunk of bread and serve with a glass of red wine!(Note – if the sauce isn’t thick enough, mix a level tablespoon of softened butter and atablespoon of plain flour tighter and whisk into the sauce (or add cornflour thickener).Wine PairingBurgundy is undoubtedly one of the most iconic wine regions in theworld. It also happens to be the birthplace of Coq au Vin. Thearomatic intensity and the silkiness of the tannins will complementbeautifully the texture and flavors of this classic French recipe. Therefreshing acidity of Pinot Noir in such a cooler climate will energizethis rich dish.Pair it with Cote Chalonnaise 2017 Annie Derain – 100% Pinot Noirfrom Burgundy - delicious!Thanks to Laurent Yung, wine expert at Sommalier.com for thegreat wine pairing tips. All wines featured in the recipes sectionare from www.sommailier.com, a wine club offering exclusiveboutique French wines in the U.S. Get a special introductoryoffer of 10% on any product – just use the code TGLF2020 onthe check out page