Sunday, April 6, 2008

Faux Coq au Vin

Let me be clear about this first: this is not traditional coq au vin (rooster in wine), an amazing dish that takes hours to cook. This is a version of Rachel Ray's 'Quick Coq Au Vin' from "30 Minute Meals". I love this dish because it is very rich but without the red meat. The red wine you use should be a hearty one like a cabernet.

Coq Au Vin

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1/2 inch size pieces
handful of all-purpose flour 
Salt and pepper
1/4 C olive oil (we are flash frying so no need for extra virgin)
1/2 lb. baby bella mushrooms, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 C full bodied dry red wine
14 oz. no-fat chicken broth
7-9 sprigs fresh thyme (strip leaves and dice them)
4 tbsp. tomato paste

Garlic croutons*
(You can also buy the larger dried bread rounds with garlic flavor to save even more time)

Season flour with salt and pepper. Carefully dust pieces of chicken in seasoned flour (dredge in flour and shake off excess). Place pieces on plate. Heat olive oil in large saute pan over medium to high heat. Once the oil is very hot, flash fry the chicken, turning until all sides are light brown and slightly crispy. Remove chicken and turn heat to medium. Add mushrooms and garlic to pan, stirring often to avoid the garlic browning. After five minutes (the mushrooms should be cooked down), add the red wine. At this point you can 'clean' the pan with the wine by scrapping any stuck brown pieces at the bottom (don't take them out of the pan though--they add great flavor). Add chicken broth, chicken and thyme. Bring to a boil. Turn heat down to medium low and stir in tomato paste. Allow to simmer for 15-25 minutes.

Serve with garlic croutons.

Garlic Croutons

1 baguette, cut in 2 inch rounds
1/4 C extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled and smashed

Broil slices  of bread until evenly cooked on both sides.
In a small glass bowl, combine olive oil and garlic. Heat in microwave for 25 seconds.
Remove garlic. Brush rounds of bread with the garlic infused olive oil.


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