Coq au Vin...a lighter version
I do try to be a good girl, sometimes. As Lauren had gymnastics on Thursday and had chosen herself some spaghetti hoops to have on toast for tea, the chicken thighs were for me and Tony.
As we'd already had a stir fry this week and I was out for an Indian last Friday and going for another one on Saturday then I figured I would get out the books and search for an old favourite.
This is a lower fat, slightly healthier version of Coq au Vin, I must warn you it doesn't come out looking anything like the rich deep purple full fat version, but makes a tasty mid-week meal.
I originally took the recipe from the Weight Watchers Pure Points 2 book and have tweaked it a bit.
Chicken Thighs in Red Wine
Heat some oil in a pan, olive oil preferably but you can use spray oil if your being very good.
Take a packet of boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut each piece into 2-4 large chunks, place in a bag with a heaped tablespoon of plain flour and some salt and pepper. Seal the bag and shake until the chicken is evenly coated. Remove from the bag and cook the chicken pieces in the hot oil until brown all over, then remove to a plate..
Next add 1 large chopped onion and 4 rashers of smoked, back bacon (fat removed and cut into strips) - cubed pancetta would work well here too as an alternative. Fry for a few minutes before adding a punnet of washed and halved button mushrooms and 2 cloves of crushed garlic. Fry for a few minutes more until the bacon and onions have browned.
Then add the chicken back to the pan, along with 150ml of red wine (you can serve the rest with dinner!), 425ml chicken stock, 1 tbsp tomato puree, salt and pepper and some herbs of your choice. I used mixed dried herbs as it's what I had, I would have like to use some fresh thyme, I think tarragon would go well too.
And that's all there is to it, let it simmer for about 30 minutes until the chicken is tender.
You can serve with potatoes, rice, pasta, vegetables, garlic bread whatever takes your fancy. But I hope you'll agree this is a quick and light version of a classic dish.
As we'd already had a stir fry this week and I was out for an Indian last Friday and going for another one on Saturday then I figured I would get out the books and search for an old favourite.
This is a lower fat, slightly healthier version of Coq au Vin, I must warn you it doesn't come out looking anything like the rich deep purple full fat version, but makes a tasty mid-week meal.
I originally took the recipe from the Weight Watchers Pure Points 2 book and have tweaked it a bit.
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| I know this is often a caption - but it tasted better than the photo gives it credit for! |
Chicken Thighs in Red Wine
Heat some oil in a pan, olive oil preferably but you can use spray oil if your being very good.
Take a packet of boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut each piece into 2-4 large chunks, place in a bag with a heaped tablespoon of plain flour and some salt and pepper. Seal the bag and shake until the chicken is evenly coated. Remove from the bag and cook the chicken pieces in the hot oil until brown all over, then remove to a plate..
Next add 1 large chopped onion and 4 rashers of smoked, back bacon (fat removed and cut into strips) - cubed pancetta would work well here too as an alternative. Fry for a few minutes before adding a punnet of washed and halved button mushrooms and 2 cloves of crushed garlic. Fry for a few minutes more until the bacon and onions have browned.
Then add the chicken back to the pan, along with 150ml of red wine (you can serve the rest with dinner!), 425ml chicken stock, 1 tbsp tomato puree, salt and pepper and some herbs of your choice. I used mixed dried herbs as it's what I had, I would have like to use some fresh thyme, I think tarragon would go well too.
And that's all there is to it, let it simmer for about 30 minutes until the chicken is tender.
You can serve with potatoes, rice, pasta, vegetables, garlic bread whatever takes your fancy. But I hope you'll agree this is a quick and light version of a classic dish.
Well I have cooked this dish today and I must say it was delicious. So, well done Maria yet another success, I have cooked this many times in the past but never quite so easily as today, which just goes to show you it does not need to be complicated to taste good.
ReplyDeleteGlad you like it mummy, mmmmm.....now what am I going to feed you when you get here...back to the drawing board ;-) x x
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