Marcus Wareing’s simplified coq au vin – classic French comfort made easy for any occasion

“A classic coq au vin, while utterly delicious, is quite a stagey recipe to prepare. There are lots of different elements that are cooked separately before being added at different times to a casserole dish,” explains Marcus Wareing.

“With this recipe I’ve taken out as many of the stages as possible, while ensuring that the end result is just as tasty as the original. It’s good enough for a dinner party, but easy enough for a weeknight family dinner.”

Quick coq au vin

Serves: 4-6

Prep time: 20 minutes | Cooking time: 2 hours, 20 minutes

Ingredients:

4 tbsp duck fat or butter

2 celery sticks, quartered

1 onion, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely grated

4 tbsp plain flour

½ tsp table salt

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 whole large chicken, jointed into 8 pieces

250g smoked streaky bacon, cut into 1cm lardons

250g button mushrooms, halved if large

200g small shallots, halved if large

2 tbsp brandy

750ml white wine

3 bay leaves

½ bunch of fresh thyme

500ml good-quality chicken stock

2 tsp cornflour (optional)

½ bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves chopped

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.

2. Heat two tablespoons of the duck fat or butter in a large frying pan over high heat and, when hot, add the celery, onion and carrots and cook for 10 minutes, or until softened. Add the garlic and fry for another minute or two. Remove from the pan and set aside in an ovenproof casserole dish.

3. Combine the flour, salt and pepper, then dust the chicken pieces all over with the seasoned flour. Add the remaining two tablespoons of duck fat to the frying pan and fry the chicken pieces in batches until golden brown – each batch should take about 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and add to the casserole dish.

4. Add the bacon, mushrooms and shallots to the pan and fry for five to seven minutes until well-browned, then add to the chicken in the casserole dish.

5. Deglaze the pan with the brandy then pour this over the ingredients in the casserole dish. Place the casserole dish over the heat, add the wine, bay leaves and thyme (tied together with string) and bring to the boil. Simmer rapidly for about 15 minutes, then add the chicken stock and simmer gently for a further 15 minutes. If needed, mix the cornflour with a little water and stir into the sauce to thicken.

6. Cover and place in the oven for 40-50 minutes, or until the juices run clear when a chicken thigh is pierced with a knife in the thickest part. Remove the herbs tied with string, stir in the parsley and serve.

‘Marcus’s France’ by Marcus Wareing (Harper NonFiction, £22).