Coq Au Vin: Lite Edition

Here's a low calorie version of the French classic: Coq Au Vin. Lo-cal? By means of not only swapping out the mountains of butter in the original version for a dash of olive oil in this version, but blanching the bacon before frying... but it's just as tasty!




















Ingredients:

• 5 chicken legs
• 5 chicken thighs
• 6 rashers of bacon
• 16 button mushrooms
• 9-10 small shallots
• 600 ml chicken stock
• 1/3 cup brandy/cognac
• 1 tbs tomato puree
• 1/3 cup flour

Marinade:

• 600 ml red wine
• 2 bay leaves
• bunch of fresh parsely
• salt & pepper

Sides:

• Dauphinoise Potatoes or freshly-baked bread

Marinate the chicken (day before)
1. Remove skin from the chicken and add to bag with marinade ingredients



















2. Leave in the fridge overnight











Next day

1. Blanch the bacon. Bring a pan of water to the boil and add chopped bacon for 2 minutes, then remove and drain. Pat dry with kitchen paper.




















2. Heat a frying pan and add the bacon, cook for a few minutes until well browned (not burnt!)











3. Remove bacon from pan. Peel the shallots and add to the pan. Cook for5 minutes mixing well with the bacon juices. Then remove from the pan.











4. Brush the mushrooms, then add to the pan and cook for a couple of minutes. Then remove and add to a casserole pan (dutch oven) with the bacon and onion, heat gently.










5. Remove chicken from the marinade (check out the red colour!) and drain and pat dry with kitchen paper. Then add to the pan (in which you cooked the bacon). When the chicken has browned, stir-in the flour until well covered. Cook a couple of minutes more, then transfer to the casserole pan.





























6. De-glaze the frying pan with some cognac, then add the mixture to the casserole pan.













7. Add the reserved marinade, chicken stock to the casserole pan, tomato puree and chopped parsley to the casserole pan. Cover and simmer gently for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally.




























8. Serve with either Dauphinoise potatoes (thinly-sliced, layered with parsely and chicken-stock and baked) or with freshly-baked bread. Both are winners, though the bread-option won most plaudits in our household.

Smoked Rosemary-Garlic Chicken

Here's a common approach used for roast-chicken which works equally well for smoking in the BBQ. A garlic-butter-rosemary rub + plenty of cherry and hickory wood = success on the plate (and palate)!



















Ingredients

• 1 x large organic chicken
• 2 bunches of fresh rosemary
• 2 tbs butter
• 4 cloves garlic
• salt & pepper
• olive oil
• 1 lemon
• Cherry and hickory wood chips

1. In a mortar add: coarsely chopped garlic, rosemary, salt & pepper, dash of olive oil, butter, juice from the lemon.




















2. Mash it all up.











3. Gently loosen skin of chicken breast from the meat and work some of the butter mixture under the skin. Rub remaining butter mixture over outside of the chicken, reserving a little for basting. Put the other bunch of rosemary and two halves of lemon inside the chicken cavity.











4. Heat BBQ for indirect cooking and add soaked wood chips (cherry and hickory). Wait until temp drops to about 300-350 F, then add the chicken.











5. Cook until done, adding more wood chips to keep smoke going. Baste the chicken now and then with the remaining butter-garlic-rosemary mixture











6. Serve with freshly baked bread and salad. And ice-cold beer. Yum.