Coq Au Chardonnay

Ingredients

Cooks in:1 hour        Serves:4

• 1 whole chicken (or 8 chicken thighs)
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• ½ Tbsp butter (plus 1 Tbsp extra, to rub the chicken)
• ½ Tbsp olive oil (plus extra, to rub the chicken)
• 4 rashers streaky bacon, chopped
• 6 baby leeks, chopped (or 1 large onion)
• 400g mixed mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary (or 2 tsp dried rosemary, or dried mixed herbs, or dried tarragon)
• 1 cup Chardonnay (or white wine of your choice)
• ½ cup chicken stock
• ½ cup fresh cream (or full-fat natural yoghurt)
• 1 head garlic, halved down the middle
• 1 cup frozen peas

To Serve

• small handful chopped fresh parsley
• squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a sprinkling of the zest
• Cauliflower Mash or sweet potato mash

What to do

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C, season the chicken and rub with the extra butter and a drizzle of olive oil.

2. To a large ovenproof pan or shallow casserole on the stovetop, add the butter and olive oil to the pan and fry the bacon, leeks, mushrooms and herbs for about 5 minutes, until the leeks and mushrooms have softened.

3. Add the wine, stock and cream and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and leave to bubble away for 5 minutes, then remove from the stovetop and place the whole chicken on top of the vegetables and bacon. Add the garlic, cut side up, and place in the oven, uncovered, for 1 hour, or until the chicken is cooked through and the skin is golden and crispy.

4. When the chicken is cooked, remove from the oven, and leave to rest. If you would like to thicken the sauce, remove just the chicken, place the pan back on the stovetop and simmer the sauce for 5–10 minutes until thickened. Then stir through the frozen peas and serve the sauce alongside the chicken. Add a scattering of fresh parsley and a squeeze of lemon juice to taste if you like, and serve with creamy cauliflower or sweet potato mash.

Photo Credit @Curtis Gallon

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