Posted by:
FoodiePhile
on
13 April 2008
Cooking Steps:
I don’t do exact measures, so you will have to wing it. Use organic as much as possible and support your local farmer’s market or local shops rather than the large multinationals! (I’ll now get off my soapbox).
Incase you're wondering about the recipe title - I was hassled by the editor of FringeReport.com for it when he stayed with us for the first time.
About the Ingredients:
4 bits of chicken – legs, breasts or thighs or get your butcher, and I don’t mean the local supermarket either, to cut the bird up in either 4 pieces or 8 (I do have a recipe that uses the blood, but unless you have a ready supply of live chicken on the wing, I dunno where you’d get the blood)
1 large onion, 3 shallots or 12 small onions – bare in mind that you are going to have to peel the suckers, which is why I use a large onion or shallots.
Mushrooms - any kind – button or open cap, even better are a mix of wild mushrooms
Garlic – as much or as little as you like
Pancetta cubes gives a better flavour or you can use diced bacon
Herbes de Provence – I’m picky I use the proper French H de P which contains lavender, but don’t worry use any herbs that you like
Salt and pepper – preferably sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
Bottle of red wine – now this is where I differ from the books, cos they say use a good bottle of Burgundy, I use cheap plonk, which works just as well.
Optional large glug of brandy
METHOD:
Pour out a large glass of wine and set to one side.
Get out the battered casserole dish (cast iron/enamel) or large frying pan if your casserole dish is glass or ceramic.
Chop onion or peel all the little ones. Wipe eyes and blow nose, then wash hands; take a swig of wine that has been set to one side.
Pour about a couple of tablespoons of oil into frying pan or casserole and gently fry chopped onion until transparent or the little ones until they are golden.
Remove with slotted spoon and set aside. If you are using a frying pan put cooked stuff into casserole dish.
Fry bacon/pancetta until crisp and put with onion.
Add more oil to pan if needed, heat till smoking (at this point do not leave the pan by itself as it has a habit of catching fire as soon as your back is turned).
Throw in the chicken (I leave the skin on as it gives a better flavour but you can use skinned bits) and fry until the skin is crisp and golden or if using skinned chicken till the flesh has a pale golden hue. Remove the chicken and put with the rest of the other cooked stuff.
Grab the glass of wine and take another sip.
Slice the mushrooms, button ones don’t need to be chopped and throw into the pan.
Finely chop or crush the garlic and add to the mushrooms, give it a quick stir, but don’t let the garlic burn.
Add all the cooked ingredients back to the pan, top up glass with wine and pour the rest over the chicken and veg. Frying pan method – pour wine onto mushrooms to deglaze the pan and then chuck it on top of the chicken and bits in the casserole dish.
Take a wee snifter from the wine glass, add a good pinch of herbs (not to the wine, silly!) to the casserole and stir.
Shove into a hot oven (gas 5, 400oF, 190oC) and retire with the glass of wine for about 1½ hours. (Check every now and again and it looks as if the liquid is evaporating add some more wine even if it means opening up another bottle or add water or stock)
If using, add a glug brandy and stir.
Now there are several ways to thicken the sauce, you can either reduce it, by removing all the solids and keeping them warm and boil the juices until they are reduced to the consistency of double cream before you whip it. In my opinion, this is too much farking about.
Cheats way is thicken with cornflour – mix a dessertspoon of cornflour with some water and pour into casserole and stir until mixed and put back in oven for 10 mins to thicken.
OR there’s the professional way – mix equal parts of butter and flour into a paste and add it bit by bit to the casserole, stirring between each addition over a low flame on the cooker, until the desired thickness is acquired. Boil for a couple of mins to eliminate the flour taste.
Taste and add salt and pepper to your liking or you can leave the salt out and let people decide whether it needs it or not.
Finish the glass of wine and serve the chicken with mashed spud or rice and a good leafy veg.
Open another bottle of wine and wait for the praise from your dinner guests.