Autumn Comfort Cooking - Coq au Riesling - The Perfect Chicken Casserole

I love this recipe. It’s the perfect transitional chicken casserole: not too heavy but just heavy enough to be comforting. Served with chunks of baguette, friends and a glass of something good it really is an excellent crowd pleaser. If, like me, you find an afternoon in the kitchen to be the ideal thing for unwinding, you’ll love this recipe. The careful process of marinading the meat and cooking each element individually could be seen as a little painstaking, but it’s so soothing and the results are really worth the effort.

As the autumn nights start to creep in, this recipe is a great one to have up your sleeve.

Serves 4-6 (Leftovers are delicious as a pasta sauce or pie filling. It’ll keep for up to three days in the fridge.

Ingredients:

• 1 whole free range chicken

• 500ml riesling

• 2 bay leaves

• 2 sprigs rosemary

• 2 sprigs thyme

• 2 sprigs parsley

• 8 cloves garlic, bashed gently

• 300ml chicken stock

• 75g butter

• 175g lardons

• 2 leeks

• 250g chestnut mushrooms

• 100ml cream

• 1 egg yolk

• 1 tbsp plain flour

  
  

For the greens:

• handful green beans/ kale per person

• juice 1/2 lemon

• salt

• 2 tsp butter

• 10g chopped parsley

Plus a loaf of crusty bread to serve!

Do in advance:

1. Begin by jointing the chicken. Take a sharp knife and begin by cutting the skin in between where the legs are attached to the breasts. You should now be able to push down on the legs down towards the chopping board and they should clearly separate from the body.

2. Cup your hand under the leg with your thumb on the joint and push up until you feel the joint pop. Turn the bird over and follow the natural shape of the chicken to help you cut the legs and thighs away from the body.

3. Cut carefully between the leg and thigh joint to separate it into two sections. Place in a large bowl.

4. With the neck facing you, run your knife down the centre of the bird to begin to separate the breasts. You will reveal the breast bone. Slightly off to one side of the central bone, keeping as close to the bones as possible, use long sweeping motions to begin to remove the breast.At the neck of bird, you’ll be able to find the wishbone. Use the curve of the wishbone to cut the breast down to the wing, removing the breast completely.

5. Cut the breast in half, diagonally and set aside.

6. You can either discard the carcass, or use it to make stock. You can find a simple stock recipe on my website

7. Place the jointed chicken in a bowl and pour over 500ml wine. Add the bay leaves, thyme, rosemary and garlic and about 1/2 tsp salt.

8. Cover and transfer to the fridge to marinate for at least 12 hours.

   
   

   I've got a really handy video on my Instagram page which shows you how to easily joint a chicken like I've described above. Take a look!

To make the casserole:

1. Slice the leeks in half lengthways and wash them to remove any muck. Then, slice them as thinly as you can into half moons.

2. Quarter the chestnut mushrooms.

3. Remove the chicken from the wine and dry it using some kitchen paper. Season it with some salt.

4. Heat 1/3 of the butter in a casserole pot or a large saucepan over a medium heat. Once it is foaming, add the lardons and fry until they are golden and crisp.

5. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl, then, add another 1/3 of the butter. Add the leeks and sweat them down with a pinch of salt until they are sweet, soft and slightly golden.

6. Remove the leeks with a slotted spoon and add to the bowl with bacon.

7. Add the remaining butter and then fry the mushrooms and a pinch of salt until golden. Add to the bacon and leeks. Transfer to the fridge.

8. Now fry the chicken, skin side down, until it is deep golden brown all over.

9. Once it’s a deep golden - and I really do mean deep golden- remove it from the pan. Turn down the heat and add the flour. Use the wooden spoon to scrape the crispy brown, flavourful bits from the bottom of the pan and cook the flour out for a couple of minutes. Then pour in the wine and scrape the bottom thoroughly again.

10. Add the chicken stock, the chicken pieces and increase the heat. Bring the pan up to a simmer, then pop the lid on, turn down the heat and leave it to cook over a low heat for 1 1/2 hours until the meat is falling off the bone. Remove the chicken pieces from the sauce and set aside. Remove the sauce from the heat and let it stand for 15 minutes, even if you intend to serve straight away

To Finish:

1. When you're ready to serve, pop a pan of water on for your greens.

2. Mix together 1 egg yolk and 100ml cream. Slowly, pour it into the sauce,

   stirring constantly. Return the pan to the heat and increase the heat to full. Bring the

   sauce up to a simmer, stirring constantly until the sauce becomes slightly thickened and glossy looking. Keep cooking and stirring until the sauce lightly coats the back of the

   wooden spoon. It won’t get really thick, but it should have some body.

3. Add the chicken, and the mushroom/leek/bacon mix and continue to cook for a further five minutes or so until heated through.

4. Meanwhile, drop the greens into the boiling water.

5. Spoon the casserole into a serving dish (or plate it individually) and scatter with the chopped parsley.

6. Drain the greens, throw in 1⁄2 tbsp butter, a good pinch of salt and the juice of 1⁄2 lemon. Toss them together and transfer to a serving bowl, or plate up.

7. Enjoy!!