Coq au Riesling May 12, 2009
Posted by elly in blogging events, chicken/poultry, soups and stews.trackback
I’m a big time red wine drinker, but I’m not as big of a fan of whites. I also don’t like overly fruity varietals, like Riesling. They are just way too sweet for my liking. But, I did get a bottle gifted to me and it’s been sitting in the bar, taking up precious alcohol space (according to my husband), so it needed to be used. I was a little nervous about using it in a recipe, especially one for coq au Riesling where it is the dominant ingredient. The flavor of wine concentrates as it cooks, and I was worried I’d end up with a pot of overly sweet chicken. But, my fears were totally unsubstantiated. This comforting dish had just a little bit of sweetness, and combined with the other ingredients (and the pasta, of course), it was really quite comforting.
Nigella doesn’t really specify whether you should use bone-in chicken thighs, but I did for two reasons: 1. frugality (much cheaper to buy bone-in and then skin yourself) and 2. taste. The bones add so much more flavor to the stewing liquid than just the meat would. Now, this obviously leaves you with bones to deal with in the final product, but since this simmers for an hour, the chicken just shreds effortlessly. You can either shred it and add it back to the pot, or you can just put a whole chicken thigh or two per plate (which is what we did).
I halved the original recipe and made a few other changes, based on what I had around. The entire recipe is supposed to make 6 servings, but we got 6 from the halved serving (1 thigh per person, plus egg noodles). It will just depend on your appetite, your typical portion size, and what you serve with it (roasted asparagus and the aforementioned whole wheat egg noodles for us).
Coq au Riesling
Adapted from Nigella Lawson
3 thick slices of bacon, chopped
6 chicken thighs, bone-in and skin off
1 leek, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 oz. cremini mushrooms, cut in half
2 bay leaves
1/2 bottle Riesling
3 Tbsp. chopped parsley
Heat a dutch oven over medium heat, and then add the bacon. Cook until bacon is slightly crispy and then remove with a slotted spoon. If there’s too much fat left in the pan, drain off some of it. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper and then add to the hot pan, browning for a couple minutes per side. Remove. Add the leek and cook until softened.
Deglaze the pan with the Riesling, and then add the chicken and bacon back in, as well as the mushrooms, bay leaves, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, cover, and then reduce to a simmer for one hour.
Season to taste and add the chopped parsley before serving.
I’m sending this over to Ruth, who runs Bookmarked Recipes. This week’s round up is being hosted by Divya at Dil Se, so be sure to check it out!
I don’t like Riesling either. I prefer a nice Pinot Noir. However, this looks really good! Maybe I’ll buy a cheap bottle and give this a try.
P.S. Thanks for the birthday wishes!
I’m not the biggest fan of riesling either but as you proved you can get good use out of it for these types of dishes…looks very comforting and hearty Elly.
Was this the picture you needed this afternoon? :) Looks great! Interesting idea to use the Riesling – I think I’ve only seen this dish with reds before. Glad it worked out!
I’ve never had Riesling before but the dish sounds delicious.
I’m the opposite where I’ve grown to like whites like Riesling, because reds just give me awful headaches and make me sleepy! This looks like a great recipe to try!
I am sure that this pasta has fantastic taste…white wine in it! I’d love to try it.
This looks fabulous – especially over those delicious looking noodles!
Next time you find yourself with some riesling you don’t know what to do with, you can feel free to send it my way :)
Great dish Elly … I love cooking with wine and this sounds delicious. Great pics too!
Sounds great! Thanks for sending it to the event!
I think a wine with the sweetness and aroma of a Riesling would work wonderfully! That Nigella does have a couple of good dishes in her!
I actually think I would prefer this to traditional Coq au Vin! I like the sweeter white wines.
I think I’m the exact opposite of you! I LOVE drinking sweeter white wines and Riesling is one of my absolute favorites, but am not crazy about drinking red wine. I just made the regular Coq au Vin a couple weeks ago and was surprised how much I enjoyed it, because like you said the flavor of the wine gets concentrated. You have totally piqued my interest to make it with Riesling now though! What a great looking recipe.
Hi Elly, my father and his parents were from Alsace, France. Coq au Riesling is actually a recipe originating in Alsace. Riesling from this region is DRY, never sweet. Being that you don’t care for sweet wines, I suggest you try this recipe with either an Alsatian Riesling, (if you can find it) or simply an off dry wine such as Clos Du Bois Riesling (California). In fact, to cook this recipe with a sweet Riesling is completely wrong (although still quite tasty!). The authentic recipe also uses a whole rooster, cut French-style and bone-in, skin on. French-style is where you are left with 8 pieces of chicken: 2 thighs, 2 legs, 2 half breasts with wings attached and 2 half breasts (so you would cut the breasts crosswise, leaving the wing on one half). Of course, where can you find a rooster?! So, I just use a 4 lb hen found at the local grocery.