Coq au vin with rose wine
Serves 4-6
1 chicken, portioned
salt and black pepper
25g butter
25ml olive oil
125g rindless streaky bacon, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
16 small pickling onions, peeled
250g small button mushrooms
3 cloves garlic, crushed
30ml flour
30ml brandy
fresh herbs: thyme, parsley and rosemary
2 bay leaves
500ml blanc de noir or rosé wine
Season the chicken portions. Melt butter and oil in a saucepan, add chicken and brown well on all sides, remove and set aside.
Add bacon, celery, onions, mushrooms and garlic. Fry until bacon is slightly crispy. Sprinkle flour on to pan and cook for a few minutes allowing flour to brown. Add brandy and flame with a match.
Return chicken to the pan, tie herbs together with string and add with bay leaves to pan. Add wine and season.
Simmer for 30-40 minutes covered, stirring occasionally until chicken is tender.
Remove herbs and bay leaves and serve with mashed potato.
Oxtail stew
Serves 4
1kg oxtail
30ml seasoned flour
50ml oil
125g streaky bacon, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, sliced
2 large carrots, cut into rings
30ml tomato paste
375ml beef stock
375ml red wine
bouquet garni (1 bay leaf, 4 peppercorns, 4 sprigs parsley and 4 cloves tied into a muslin bag)
12 small pickling onions
chopped fresh parsley to garnish
Coat the oxtail in seasoned flour. Heat oil in a large saucepan.
Brown the meat on all sides. Remove and set aside.
Add bacon and fry for a minute, add onion, celery and carrots, and fry until onion is soft. Return oxtail to casserole.
Add tomato paste, stock, wine, bouquet garni. Simmer covered for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally.
After 1½ hours, add the pickling onions. Before serving, remove the bouquet garni. Garnish with the chopped parsley and serve with creamy mashed potatoes.
Smoked fish chowder with white wine
Serves 6-8
50ml oil
2 onions, finely chopped
2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
2 carrots, peeled and grated
80ml flour
500ml chicken stock
500ml milk
15ml tomato paste
180ml frozen peas
500g smoked haddock fillets, cubed
125ml dry white wine
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Heat oil in saucepan and gently fry onion. Add potatoes and carrots, and gently cook for 10 minutes. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Stir in stock, milk and tomato paste. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and cook for 10 minutes.
Add peas and haddock and simmer for 10 minutes or until fish and vegetables are cooked. Stir in wine and heat through. Season with salt and pepper.
Pears poached in wine
Serves 6
6 firm pears
750ml good-quality red wine
200ml castor sugar
1 cinnamon stick
80ml orange juice
a few strips of orange peel
Peel the pears, being careful to keep the pears whole with the stalks still attached.
Put the wine, sugar, cinnamon stick, orange juice and peel in a saucepan that is large enough for the pears to stand upright in.
Stir over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Add the pears.
They should be almost covered by the wine mixture. Cover the pan and simmer for 30-40 minutes, or until the pears are cooked. Allow to cool in the syrup. Remove the pears with a slotted spoon.
Bring the liquid in the pan to the boil, and boil rapidly until the sauce is reduced to a syrupy consistency.
Serve the pears with a little syrup and some mascarpone or whipped cream.
The Star