Please don’t be fooled by the title of this post, as “Coq Au Vin” sounds like it may be a very fancy dish, but my weeknight version of making it in an hour couldn’t be easier. Translated loosely from French as “rooster in wine”, Coq Au Vin is a rustic dish of braising chicken in red wine with some broth, tomato paste, bacon (or lardons), onions and carrots. Many recipes call for you to avoid overcrowding in the dish, to sauté the vegetables apart and add them back to the dish, and yada yada yada. I have thrown all caution to the wind and have made this weeknight coq au vin quite simply a one pot meal. One last note, the final dish will be more tender and tasty the longer you simmer it. So plan on starting a couple hours before dinner. You can prep and start the dish and then leave to stew on its own while you take care of the myriad of other responsibilities you may be juggling. Bon Apetit!
Weeknight Coq Au Vin
Ingredients
- 6-8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1/2 cup pancetta or bacon, diced
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 5 cloves of garlic, minced
- 4-6 tbsp tomato paste
- 3 cups red wine
- 1 cup broth, chicken or vegetable
- 10 fresh thyme sprigs
Instructions
- Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
- In a sauce pan that is large enough to accommodate all the chicken, heat up the bacon and pancetta and cook until browned, 5-8 minutes. Add the onions, carrots and garlic for one minute.
- Push the vegetables and pancetta/bacon to the side and brown the chicken thighs, 5-10 minutes on each side.
- Mix the wine, broth and tomato paste together in a bowl and pour over the chicken. Add thyme, bring to a simmer and cover. You really only need to cook for about 20-30 minutes, but you would not harm the dish if you were to cook it longer. Serve over egg noodles or rice.
Looking for more easy weeknight meal ideas? Check out some more family friendly, one-pot recipes here.
4 comments
Yum! (PS Any chef who can dismiss unnecessary steps with a “yada, yada, yada” has the confidence to be great!)
Ha ha! Yes, let’s not worry about the details and just get a yummy dish on the table!