Coq au Vin

Here's my take on a classic dish.  It takes some time to make, but is worth it!  Use whatever vegetables are in season and make it your own!  Served here with mashed rutabagas you can serve with your favorite starch.

Coq au Vin

Ingredients

• 6-8 chicken thighs or 1 whole chicken cut up into 6-8 pieces (bone-in skin-on either way)
• 1/4 cup pancetta, diced
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 leek, sliced
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 8 oz. mushrooms, quartered
• 2 Tbsp. Wondra or all-purpose flour
• 2 cups dry red wine, such as a pinot noir or burgundy
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 4 sprigs thyme
• salt & pepper, to taste

Serves 6-8
Cook Time: 2 hours

​Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and sauté pancetta until rendered; meanwhile bath chicken in a few squirts of lemon juice, blot with paper towels until dry and then salt & pepper, to taste both sides.  Pan sear each side of chicken until golden brown and crispy, but do not worry about cooking through; this may take two batches, do not crowd the chicken or it will steam and not brown well.  Remove browned chicken and set aside.
Add onions, leeks, celery and carrots to pot, cook to soften; add garlic and mushrooms and cook until mushrooms give up their juices and start to brown.  Add Wondra and cook to remove raw taste.  
Deglaze with wine, scrapping browned bits off the bottom of the pan, cook wine until alcohol cooks off.  Add stock and bring to a simmer.  Add chicken back to pan and allow to cook through to 165, covered; this will continue to cook low and slow for about another hour.  You can continue cooking over the stove or pop it in an oven set to 300.   Add pancetta about 5 minutes before serving so it stays crispy.
Great with mashed turnips or rutabagas.