To get this meal to the table all at the same time:

• Cut up the chicken and make the stock the day before. Chill the stock over night.
• Chop the pancetta ealier in the day and set aside.
• Prep the finishing veggies earlier in the day and cook them during the last cooking time for the chicken.
• The pecans can be candied several days in advance. Store them in an air tight sealed container until you finish the dessert.
• Prepare the sauce for the dessert up to just before adding the bananas but finish the dssert just before serving.

Coq Au Vin

Serves 4

1 chicken

Salt and pepper as required

Cut up the chicken first. Remove the backbone and set aside. Remove the wings and trim off the tips and set aside. Remove the legs and cut both between the thigh and the drumstick. Cut the both sides of the breast off the ribs but leave the keel bone in place and then cut each breast into 2 even pieces. Reserve the ribs. 

1 small onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 small carrot roughly chopped
5 whole peppercorns
Trimmings from the chicken
Water to cover

Put the backbone, ribs and wing tips into a separate pan. Add the remaining ingredients above and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and let it simmer until required. This will become the stock that is used to finish the dish. The stock can be made well in advance and simmered for several hours to bring out as much flavour as possible.

Note: As the stock is cooking it’s very important to skim the foam and any particles in the foam off the top of the stock constantly. This will make the final stock clear. DO NOT EVER STIR THE STOCK AS THIS WILL ENSURE THAT YOUR FINAL STOCK WILL BE CLOUDY AND UN ATTRACTIVE!

5 oz pancetta whole

Cut the pancetta into batons, approximately 2 inches long and ¼ inch thick. Add to a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat. Cook just until the fat has rendered out and the pancetta is starting to brown. Remove pancetta from the pan and set aside. Do not discard the fat or clean the pan.

Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and place them in the fat in the same pan as the pancetta was cooked in. Place over medium heat and cook until the skin is brown. Season the other side and flip and continue to cook until the chicken is brown on both sides. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.

¼ cup butter
1 medium onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 large carrot, roughly chopped
2 stalk of celery, washed and roughly chopped
2 clove of garlic, peeled and sliced into thin slices
¼ cup flour

Once the chicken has been removed from the pan, add the butter, onion, carrot, celery and garlic and sauté just until the onions are translucent. Do not let them brown. Stir in the flour and mix well with the other ingredients in the pan. Let the flour just start to turn golden. Add the chicken and pancetta back to the pan.

3 cups of red wine
2 small sprigs of thyme
3 bay leaves

Deglaze the pan with the red wine and then add the thyme and bay leaves. Spoon in ladles of the simmering chicken stock until the entire chicken is covered. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat so the mixture simmers. Cover partially with a lid. Don’t let the mixture boil. If you can’t get the heat on the stove top low enough, place the pan in a preheated 350°F oven. Cook the chicken until it is tender, approximately 40 minutes.

Remove the chicken and pancetta from the pan and strain the sauce. Discard the vegetables and herbs and return the sauce to the pan. Return the chicken and pancetta to the sauce and simmer just until the chicken almost falls off the bone, approximately another 20 minutes. 

20 – 30 small boiled potatoes (the quantity will depend upon the size of the potatoes)
Small bunched carrots, peeled and cooked
Asparagus, tough ends snapped off and simmer just until tender

Remove all of the solids from the pan and place in a serving bowl. Turn the heat to high and reduce the sauce just until it is thickened. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Ladle the sauce over the chicken and serve with the potatoes and veggies on the side. I choose not to garnish the veggies for this dish as there are already lots of garnishes in the dish and the veggies themselves are an attractive garnish in themselves.

Bananas Foster
¼ cup butter
½ cup brown sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ cup banana liqueur
4 banana skins removed, cut in half lengthwise and then into 4 even slices (8 pieces per banana)
¼ cup dark rum
4 scoops vanilla ice cream
Candied pecans as required – see recipe below

Melt the butter in a pan over medium high heat. Add the brown sugar and cinnamon and cook just until the sugar has completely melted. Add the banana liqueur and the bananas. Cook until the bananas are slightly browned. Remove the pan from the heat and carefully add the rum. Flambé the rum and cook just until the flames die down.

Spoon over the scoops of ice cream and top with the chopped candied pecans. Serve immediately.

Candied Pecans

1 cup pecans
½ cup sugar

Put the nuts in a dry pan over high heat. Note: Do not use a Teflon coated pan for this as the high heat may damage coating. Sprinkle the sugar over the nut and allow the sugar to start to melt and to coat the nuts. Do not walk away! As soon as the sugar starts to melt, toss the nuts to ensure that the sugar evenly coats all of the nuts. As soon as all of the sugar is melted and the nuts are coated in the caramel, transfer the nuts immediately to a cool plate to stop the cooking. Set aside until later. This can be done up to 24 hours before hand as long as the nuts are stored in a sealed air tight container.

Cathie Hamilton
Certified Culinary Scientist
E-mail Cathie Hamilton

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