Mediterranean Style Coq au Vin
A departure from the classical French dish, Coq au Vin or Chicken with Wine, this dish stews the chicken in a white wine sauce flavored with rosemary, tomatoes and Kalamata olives for a bright, summery Mediterranean dish, served over white rice.
I realize that I am taking broad poetic license to call this Mediterranean Style Coq au Vin. The classical French Coq au Vin is made in a rich red wine sauce with pearl onions and mushrooms. It is hearty and reminds one of comfort food eaten by a fireplace on a winter’s evening. I’ve made it and it is a recipe that seems unduly laborious, but becomes inexplicably mediocre if you cut corners.
I began looking for an alternative and I made this dish from scratch, long before I began Kitchen Tapestry sometime in the mid 1990s. I wanted a dish that borrowed the technique from the classic Coq au Vin by browning the chicken first, and then stewing it in a wine sauce, but I wanted brighter, summery flavors, with white wine, tomatoes, rosemary and olives. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was recreating a dish very similar to one that is well known from the Provence region of France (which in fact boarders the Mediterranean), called Chicken Provençal. Chicken Provençal is still slightly different from this recipe, however. Mine uses Kalamata olives and Rosemary, while the classical Chicken Provençal uses green olives and Herbs de Provence. Still, the Kitchen Tapestry recipe for Mediterranean Style Coq au Vin is more akin to Chicken Provençal than it is to its namesake.
So, to be clear, the recipe here is not an interpretation of the classic French Coq au Vin recipe. Nor is it strictly Chicken Provençal. It’s an original creation and meant to be served over rice with lots of the delicious broth.
As a footnote to this recipe, I have tried the rosemary several different ways. Originally, I took fresh rosemary needles off their stem, and put them in the broth whole. Then I tried chopping them. I also tried dried rosemary. I finally came to the conclusion that the needles were a distraction while eating this dish. So, leaving the rosemary springs intact, cooking them in the broth, and then removing them before serving the dish worked perfectly. They render all their aroma and flavor, but none of the needles stay behind to detract from the rest of the ingredients.
Mediterranean Style Coq au Vin
Ingredients
- 4 each chicken legs and thighs
- 2 tbsp garlic, minced
- 1 large yellow onion, finely diced
- 8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
- 6 medium fresh tomatoes, cut into quarters or sixths
- 1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives (like, Mazzetta)
- 1/2 of 3.5-oz jar nonpareil capers, drained (like, Crosse & Blackwell)
- 5 sprigs fresh rosemary, intact
- 4 cups dry white wine
- 1 cup chicken stock (like Swanson's or Kitchen Basics)
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
- 10-12 grinds freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
- In a large Dutch oven, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and rub the minced garlic all over them.
- Starting skin side down, carefully place the chicken into the hot oil, and mind the heat so you don't burn the garlic. Don't over-crowd the chicken, or you'll end up steaming the chicken pieces rather than sautéing them. Cook the chicken until browned, about 6-8 minutes per side.
- Remove the chicken pieces to a platter and allow any juices to accumulate.
- Add a bit more olive oil if needed and sauté the onion first, then melt the butter into the onions and add the mushrooms. Cook until all are beginning to caramelize, but not crispy, about 15 minutes.
- When the onions and mushrooms are browned, pour about half a cup of the white wine into the Dutch oven, and using your spatula, scrape up all of the crusty brown bits..
- Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the Dutch oven and add the tomatoes, olives and capers. Pour in the chicken stock and the remaining white wine to completely cover the chicken.
- Submerge the whole, intact rosemary sprigs into the broth. Test for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if needed. Bring everything to a soft simmer.
- Cook the chicken uncovered for 1 hour.
- When the chicken is done, remove the whole sprigs of rosemary and discard before serving. Serve in a large pasta bowl over white rice, with lots of broth.
