Le Coq-au-Vin
Le coq-au-vin is a braise of chicken cooked with mushrooms, wine and garlic. Coq in French means "rooster" but many coq au vin recipes use chicken, as the main ingredient. To prepare you first marinade the chicken in wine, it is then seared in fat and then simmered until tender. The other ingredients are added and then it is stewed for 1-2 hours until it is cooked. The juices are then thickened using a roux of wheat flour and fat, or by adding blood. The older the bird, the richer the sauce.
Various legends trace coq-au-vin to ancient Gaul, and Julius Caesar, but it was not first recorded until the early 20th century. It is known that it existed in the region as a rustic dish prior to this though and has been passed down through generations of chefs in Auvergne. If a coq-au-vin is made with wines from different regions, it changes it name slightly. In a dish with an Auvergne wine it is called a Coq-au-vin de Chanturgue or if it uses a wine from Béarn it is called a Coq-au-vin Irouléguy.
Le coq-au-vin is a truly French dish, with good French ingredients (wine, mushrooms), a recipe that has been passed down throughout history and a meal that will be remembered and is regarded highly as one of the "classic" French dishes.
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