Coq au Vin Pie with Puff Pastry

Coq au Vin Pie

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 55 minutes

Serves 4 with a side of vegetables

• Oil for frying
• 1 onion, peeled and diced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 stick celery, diced
• 2 rashers bacon (about 125g/4ozs), diced
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and diced
• 150g/5ozs mushrooms sliced
• 500g/1.1lb. chicken fillets (I used a mix of thighs and breast) cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 tablespoons plain all purpose flour
• 1 cup red wine (Burgundy is traditional)
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 sprig thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• Salt and pepper
• Butter for greasing tray
• 1 sheet puff pastry
• 4 Dutch carrots, trimmed
• 1 egg yolk mixed with a teaspoon of milk

Step 1 - Heat the oil in a large pot and add the onion, carrot and celery and cook for a few minutes until softened. Add the bacon and garlic and cook for a couple of minutes. Then add the mushrooms and some oil and cook until mushrooms are starting to cook through. Remove from the pan and set aside.

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Step 2- Deglaze the pan by adding the red wine and then scraping any stuck bits at the bottom. Then add the flour and stir and press to remove any lumps. Add the chicken pieces coasting them well (at this stage, it will not look appealing at all). Then add the chicken stock, mushroom mixture, bay leaf, thyme and sugar and place the lid on to bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. If you want less sauce, simmer with the lid off, otherwise you can simmer with the lid on if you want your pie to be saucier. Season with salt and pepper once it is cooked.

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Step 3 - Meanwhile preheat oven to 220C/440F and grease the pie dish with butter. Thaw a sheet of puff pastry and cut it out to fit a pie dish. Crimp the sides and cut out four holes with a small round cutter (I used an apple corer). When the filling has finished cooking, cool it a little and remove the thyme and bay leaf. Pour the filling into the pie dish and then top with the crimped pastry. Brush with the egg yolk and stick the carrots in the holes. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

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