Coq au vin

This is the last meal I made for Clarissa in our home in Inveresk. She didn’t eat much and I just thought she was perhaps unwell. It wasn’t until I was driving into work the next day that it dawned on me. I had served her, a famously recovering alcoholic, a dish of her favourite Linda Dick chicken drowned in forbidden wine!

Serves four

1 free range chicken, jointed, with skin on 150g lardons or smoked pancetta 2 tbsp olive oil 1 large French onion, roughly chopped 2 sticks celery, chopped 1 carrot, choppped 2 crushed cloves garlic 2 fresh bay leaves 2 sprigs each fresh rosemary and thyme 6-8 black peppercorns 750ml good red wine, burgundy or shiraz 100g unsalted butter 2 tbsp plain flour 100ml chicken stock 250g button mushrooms 150g small white pearl onions a handful of parsley sea salt and black pepper boiled new potatoes green salad

1 Start the preparation the day before. To make the marinade, warm a tablespoon of olive oil in a casserole dish and sauté the lardons until their fat is melted and crispy. Add the onions, carrots and celery and sauté till softened. Add the garlic, herbs, black peppercorns and cover with the red wine. Boil on the hob for 5 minutes to release the alcohol. Take off the heat and allow to cool.

2 Season the chicken joints well with sea salt and black pepper then add them to the marinade. Cover and leave refrigerated overnight.

3 When ready to cook: pre-heat the oven to 200C/gas Mark 6. Lift the chicken pieces from the marinade, drain them and pat them dry with kitchen paper.

4 Put half the butter and the remaining tablespoonful of olive oil in a heavy casserole dish, then add the chicken pieces and cook on the hob until they’re nice and crispy. Remove the chicken from the casserole dish.

5 Add the flour to the casserole and stir it round in the juices, scraping the bottom to loosen crusts. Stir in the stock to make a roux then return the chicken to the casserole and cover with the remaining marinade. Stir well.

6 Bring to a simmer on the hob and add the button mushrooms and pearl onions. Check seasoning, then cook in the oven for about 75 minutes.

7 Stir in the remaining butter to add creaminess to the sauce, check seasoning and add a generous handful of finely chopped flat leaf parsley. Serve with boiled new potatoes and a crisp green salad.