Last Night's Dinner #89: A White Coq Au Vin

Gourmet has a bunch of great recipes this month - I saw this braised chicken recipe, that's pretty much Coq Au Vin but instead of red wine it calls for Riesling (a sweetish German wine).

The kitchen smelled so good this afternoon, browning chicken, leeks, butter, wine ---- mmmmm it smelled like a French bistro minus the smoke.

The recipe is pretty simple, it's all about prepping your ingredients before starting.
- different cuts of chicken (I used three thighs and three legs, skin on)
- 3 medium sized leeks finely chopped, using only the white and light green parts (about 2 cups)
- 1 cup of heavy cream
- 1 cup of dry white wine, preferebly Alsace Riesling
- 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter
- 3 small shallots finely chopped
- 3 carrots, peeled and cut in half (crosswise at an angle)
- 6 baby red potatoes, peeled
- 2 tablespoons of flat parsley
- olive oil
- lemon juice to taste
- salt & pepper

The easiest way to finely chop leeks:

Cut leeks into 2 to 3" pieces then slit length-wise half way, then flatten out


Cut into vertical strips then chop cross-wise

Steps:

Preheat over to 350 F. Place rack in the middle slot.
Clean chicken and season well with salt and pepper.



Heat up olive oil and 1 tbs of butter in a large heavy pot, cook chicken pieces (brown both sides) for about 10 to 12 minutes. Boil about 2 to 4 quarts of water plus a couple of teaspoons of salt in a separate pot.

Transfer chicken pieces to a plate and drain out the oil from the pot.



Heat up the remaining butter in the same pot (no need to wash, leave brown bits in there) and add shallots, leeks and a big pinch of salt. Lower heat, cover pot and allow to simmer for about 4 to 6 minutes or until lightly golden. Add back chicken pieces to the pot plus any juices, carrots and wine. Boil until it reduces in half, about 4 to 5 minutes then transfer pot into the oven and braise for about 20 minutes.

In the meantime peel potatoes and drop into the boiling water. Cook until tender for about 20 minutes (test with a fork at 15 minutes). Drain and toss in parsley.



Once the chicken is cooked, add cream, salt & pepper (if needed) and lemon juice to taste. Add in potatoes.