“Coq Au Vin” Meatball Stew

12 Days of Christmas with LG,BE

Day 3:

If you were hoping that I was going to share some winter comfort food, then you came to the right place.

Traditionally coq au vin is one of those prestigious French dishes that people hear about but mostly feel intimated when they think about executing the dish. Home cooks put so much pressure on themselves to do everything exactly how it’s written, and it’s usually because they are doubtful about their “culinary confidence”.

But Ifor anybody who isn’t as confident in the kitchen as they’d like to be, altering your lens of perfection means you have more control over what you fear. So follow a recipe… but don’t penalize yourselves for wanting to switch up the technique or ingredients to make it work in the moment.

COQ AU VIN -> translated to Chicken in Wine -> common ingredients but sophisticated techniques usually. With this recipe, we’re using ground chicken instead and we’re making meatballs! Because who doesn’t love meatballs? Who doesn’t love cooking with wine? Heck, take this recipe and make it your own too. I really just want to share how delicious I think this meatball stew is and that hopefully you can remember to be inspired throughout these 12 Days of Christmas along the way.

So let’s get started, shall we?

INGREDIENTS

1 pack of ground chicken
1/2 cup of panko breadcrumbs
1 egg
1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tbsp of garlic powder
1/2 tbsp of italian seasoning
(I like this because it combines rosemary, thyme, basil and oregano — all great for meatballs)
1 small onion, diced
4 cloves of minced garlic
2 cups of cremini mushrooms, chopped
3-4 large carrots, chopped
bunch of fresh thyme
(optional, but makes a large difference IMO)
1 small can(5oz) of tomato paste
1 cup of chicken broth
1 /2 cups of dry red wine.
S + P
chopped parsley for garnish

1. Start by setting the oven to preheat to 450ºF. Prepare a sheet pan with a piece of parchment and slightly oil the paper. Next, combine the ground chicken, panko breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, egg, garlic powder and Italian seasoning in a large bowl. Roll out at least 15 meatballs and place on the sheet pan, baking in the oven for 25 minutes total — 15 minutes – flip – another 10 minutes.

2. Next, preheat a large pan with a drizzle of olive oil over medium high heat. Start with the carrots and mushrooms – get a bit of colour on them and cook for around 5 minutes on their own since they take the longest to cook out of the veggies. Next, add the onions and garlic and sauté for a few minutes until fragrant.

3. Add the tomato paste to the pan and sauté with the vegetables until you see it start to stick to the sides and bottom of the pa, turning slightly darker. Next? Add the wine! Deglaze the pan and scrape the bottom of it with the back of your spoon. Then add the chicken broth shortly after, and a bunch of thyme sprigs (if using) tied up with kitchen yarn into the mix. Put the lid on and allow the sauce to simmer while you wait for the meatballs to finish cooking.

4. Once the meatballs are out of the oven, transfer them into the sauce and keep simmering until the sauce becomes reduced to a consistency where you’re happy with it. Remove the thyme bunch at this time also. Remember to taste the sauce too and season accordingly. I like to add quite a bit of freshly cracked black pepper at the very end, but you do you guys!

[TIP] The good thing about allowing the chicken meatballs to simmer while in the sauce is that 1) it’s adding another layer of flavour AND 2) they become super moist which is important since we’re using ground chicken with a lower fat content ratio than ground beef.

5. Serve these guys with some creamy mashed potatoes and fresh parsley on top and you got yourself the perfect quick, winter comfort food dinner.

Enjoy foodie friends and as always, peace and good eats.-A❁