Quick Coq Au Vin

When meal planning for the week, if I am having trouble deciding what to make or lacking inspiration, I start thinking about my favorite restaurants and what I order there. I have recently discovered a great french restaurant and love ordering the coq au vin. I decided to make it at home and then I was looking through recipes and immediately decided, this is not a weeknight meal, until I found this recipe.

This recipe is a quicker version on coq au vin that cuts down on time and not on flavor.  There is some waiting during the preparation, but you can easily set a timer and leave the kitchen {!!!} and continue on with your nightly chores or catch up on your tv shows for that night. This is truely a one-pot meal, which makes clean-up so easy. You can make mashed potatoes or just have a loaf of crusty bread to complete the meal and soak up the amazing juices.
Source: adapted from, The Kitchn

Ingredients:
6-8 Chicken Thighs, large with skin-on, about 3 lbs.
Kosher Salt & Freshly Cracked Black Pepper
1/2 cup of Pancetta or Bacon, diced into 1/2 inch pieces
1 Yellow Onion, large and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 Carrot, medium and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
5 cloves of Garlic, minced
2 tablespoons of Tomato Paste
3 cups of Red Wine, dry & fruity, such as Zinfandel
1 cup of Chicken Stock
2 Bay Leaves
6-8 sprigs of fresh Thyme
3/4 cup of Baby Bella Mushrooms
Fresh Parsley, for garnish

Directions:
First, sprinkle both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper, liberally.

Now, in a large 4-6 quart saucepan or dutch oven with a lid {big enough to hold all of the chicken}, brown the pancetta over medium heat for 5-7 minutes. Add the onions and cook until they begin to soften. Turn the heat up to medium-high heat and add the chicken, skin-side down and brown for 3-5 minutes on each side.

Next, add the onions, carrots, garlic, tomato paste, wine, chicken stock, bay leaves, and thyme to the pot. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked until the internal temperature of 160 degrees. Remove the chicken to a plate and cover with foil.

Now, add the mushrooms to the pot and bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the liquid by 1/3 or 1/2. Remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs.

Add the chicken back to the pot and let it warm back up, about 10 minutes.

Serve in a bowl with a chicken thigh and a ladle of gravy over top, garnish with fresh parsley.

Enjoy!

Happy Cooking,
The Barbee Housewife