#club5050 Recipe Of The Month Coq Au Vin (Power Up 61 Steem)

[Kok][Oh][Van]? No, I don’t drive a van though I have hired one once. It helps when you go big on the gardening and would rather do it yourself than ring a man with a van who would cancel on you on the day with just less than an hour notice.

Camera: iPhone 12 Lens: iPhone 12 Back Dual Wide 1.55, 4.2,1.6,2.4
ISO: 250 Shutter Speed: 1/50 Focal Length: 4.2mm

I would love to go on holiday, sleep some nights in a caravan, cook over an open fire and stargaze. Ideally in America, arriving somewhere in the south like Texas and yes, of course I will feel really tempted to cross the border and enjoy a few weeks and save a fortune in Mexico. But no, not this time.

Camera: iPhone 12 Lens: iPhone 12 Back Dual Wide 1.55, 4.2,1.6,2.4
ISO: 200 Shutter Speed: 1/50 Focal Length: 4.2mm

Back to the French coq au vin that is pronounced [kok][oh][van] which also isn’t what was on the menu at mine last night on Valentine’s Day. We got a take away, Lebanese. There are still leftovers somewhere here hopefully in the fridge.

Camera: iPhone 12 Lens: iPhone 12 Back Dual Wide 1.55, 4.2,1.6,2.4
ISO: 400 Shutter Speed: 1/50 Focal Length: 4.2mm

In France the coq au vin is traditionally a peasants’ dish which is cooked for the workers and the farmers. Chicken thighs are a cheaper cut of meat so it all makes sense when you come to think of it.

Camera: iPhone 12 Lens: iPhone 12 Back Dual Wide 1.55, 4.2,1.6,2.4
ISO: 320 Shutter Speed: 1/50 Focal Length: 4.2mm

I cooked coq au vin here in London tonight and I made a good use of some of my homegrown mushrooms. I was actually quite pleased to find out that many people from different countries Venezuela, Russia and Ukraine to name a few were really interested and wished to also try growing some mushrooms at home. @marlyncabrera I believe, I actually hope you are reading this, kindly suggested in one of her comments that I should cook and post here of course a dish which includes some of my mushrooms.

Camera: iPhone 12 Lens: iPhone 12 Back Dual Wide 1.55, 4.2,1.6,2.4
ISO: 200 Shutter Speed: 1/50 Focal Length: 4.2mm

So here it is, the coq au vin which is another recipe of the month of mine. It is perfect to have on a rainy day like here today. It also needs red wine which you might have some left of after last night’s celebration of love or just another Monday.

Camera: iPhone 12 Lens: iPhone 12 Back Dual Wide 1.55, 4.2,1.6,2.4
ISO: 200 Shutter Speed: 1/50 Focal Length: 4.2mm

Here is your shopping list including all the ingredients which will comfortably serve four people.

• 8 chicken thighs
• 200 grams of pancetta
• 12 shallots
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 celery stick
• 2 large carrots
• mushrooms
• 600ml of red wine
• 150ml of chicken stock
• thyme
• rosemary
• 2 bay leaves
• plain flour
• olive oil, salt and pepper

Camera: iPhone 12 Lens: iPhone 12 Back Dual Wide 1.55, 4.2,1.6,2.4
ISO: 500 Shutter Speed: 1/50 Focal Length: 4.2mm

Don't miss any of the below steps if you fancy a tasty coq au vin for tea or lunch one day.

1. Get your large casserole dish and heat it on the hob, add about a table spoon of olive oil. Then add the pancetta and cook until crispy.
2. Remove the pancetta, leave it on kitchen paper, add the shallots, celery and carrots and cook them for five to ten minutes until browned. Then remove the vegetables and set them aside.
3. Brown the chicken thighs in your casserole dish on both sides and add a little more oil if needed. If you are super organised you can marinade the chicken thighs in red wine overnight.
4. Remove the chicken thighs and set them aside. Add in the casserole dish your fine chopped garlic and return the vegetables to the pan. Add 1 tablespoon of the plain flour, mix it with the vegetables and cook for a few minutes to brown.
5. Then pour in a quarter of your red wine and scrape around the bottom of the pan so it gets the remaining browned chicken and veg. Stir in the rest of the wine, add in chicken stock, bacon and chicken. Season with a bit of salt and pepper. Add in your fresh mushrooms.
6. Place the lid on and leave in the oven for about an hour and a half at 170C. Check the sauce after an hour and add a little water if it has thickened too much.
7. Don't be shy to drink the remaining 150ml of wine left in the bottle while you wait for it to cook.

The coq au vin I cooked is based on the traditional french recipe although the carrots and celery are my additions because we like them. The traditional recipe calls for chestnut mushrooms but I used the larger ones I grew just cut in half and you can also add a teaspoon of tomato puree to the stock if you like.

I also powered up 61 Steem and below is a screenshot of this important operation.