Easy Coq au Vin

D made this. He wasn't sure what made it easy. Well he said it was easy, but tedious.

Except for the pearl onions it was very good. You couldn't taste the bacon. The sauce was thin, but very rich. D said he omitted oil, but added butter and flour to that. We had with rotini pasta.

A very good Sunday dinner on a cold evening.

Easy Coq au Vin

Serve with noodles, rice, or boiled potatoes

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 thigh, 1 drumstick, and about 1 cup sauce)

4 applewood-smoked bacon slices, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 chicken drumsticks, skinned
4 chicken thighs, skinned
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 (750-milliliter) bottle red wine (we used a Cab)
2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
8 ounces button mushrooms, quartered
6 ounces frozen pearl onions
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1. Cook bacon in a large, deep skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan. Reserve 2 tablespoons drippings in pan. Sprinkle chicken with salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add chicken to drippings in pan; cook 5 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove chicken from pan.

2. Add onion and next 5 ingredients (through bay leaves); cook 5 minutes. Add tomato paste; cook 1 minute. Stir in wine; bring to a boil. Cook 10 minutes or until reduced by half, stirring occasionally. Return chicken to pan. Add broth; bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer 35 minutes or until chicken is done, turning after 20 minutes. Remove chicken from pan; cover.

3. Heat a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil to pan, and swirl to coat. Add button mushrooms and pearl onions; sprinkle with remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook for 10 minutes or until golden, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

4. Place chicken cooking liquid over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced by half (about 10 minutes). Discard bay leaves. Stir in mushroom mixture. Return chicken to pan; simmer 5 minutes or until heated. Sprinkle with parsley and bacon.

CALORIES 319 ; FAT 13.2g (sat 3.6g,mono 4.1g,poly 1.8g); CHOLESTEROL 115mg; CALCIUM 78mg; CARBOHYDRATE 16.1g; SODIUM 727mg; PROTEIN 33.9g; FIBER 2.7g; IRON 3.2mg

Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2010