Of winter hats and white wine chicken

Now that the weather is finally cooling down, our thoughts turn to winter-weight peacoats (maybe in teal?), patterned tights and maybe a leopard-print cloche hat, like Tuppence from Agatha Christie’s books might wear. Okay, that’s just my thoughts. I also can’t stop thinking about a gorgeous Fiorelli handbag (silver chain, fake fur insert, fierce).

Long slow cooking on Saturday afternoons is also a feature. Like this dish I made last weekend. This is a fairly tradition treatment of chicken that yields a thickened, creamy, thyme-scented sauce. The smell that permeates the kitchen while this is cooking is pretty amazing, too.

Chicken braised with wine, cream and thyme

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 large chicken marylands, bone attached

1 tbls p olive oil

1 carrot, cut into 4cm lengths, quartered

5 eschalots, halved and peeled

½ small bunch thyme

1 garlic clove, crushed

½ cup white wine

½ cup cream

1 tblsp plain flour

10g unsalted butter, softened

Method
1. Wash the chicken, then pat dry with paper towel. Place a large deep frypan over medium heat. Add olive oil and fry the chicken, skin-side down, for 3-4 minutes until skin is golden brown. Turn and continue to fry for 2 minutes until cooked through. Remove chicken from the pan and drain on paper towel.
2. Carefully pour off any excess fat and wipe frypan clean with paper towel. Return chicken to the pan with carrot, eschalot, thyme, garlic and wine. Place over high heat and bring the wine to the boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid and braise for 30 minutes. Alternatively, the chicken can be placed in a roasting pan, covered with foil and braised in a 180 C oven.
3. After 30 minutes, remove the lid and add cream, then season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook, covered, for 15-20 minutes, or until the chicken is almost falling from the bone. Remove the chicken and vegetables with a slotted spoon to a dish and keep warm.
4. Bring the sauce to a simmer. Combine the flour and butter in a small bowl to form a paste, then whisk into sauce. Simmer for 1-2 minutes to cook out the flour and thicken the sauce.
5. Plate up the chicken and vegetables and serve with the sauce.

Recipe adapted from delicious (April 2011)

Partially prepared vegetables, with corn-fed chicken marylands

The chicken is first browned to crisp up the skin, then the veges, thyme, wine and cream are added.

 

The butter stirred into the sauce silkens it beautifully. The chicken is also wonderfully moist after its simmer in the frypan.

Serve chicken with the sauce poured over.

Cloche hat and teal peacoat are optional.