Oui. I know what you are thinking. You are thinking, what kind of silly French dish is this? Coq au vin? Really?
The original French concoction was a way for provincial French wives to make use of an old rooster and took a long time to prepare.
My version is quick and easy and best of all, fits into the paleo diet.
Note, I personally do not eat mushrooms. I leave them out when I make this, but I will put them in the recipe for those of you who do enjoy them.
So, let’s get to the food!
Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
5-6 strips of thick cut bacon
Package frozen pearl onions (thawed)
2-3 carrots
Container of cremini or button mushrooms
¼ cup of almond flour
2 tbs of tomato paste
1 ½ tsp dried thyme
1 tsp sea salt
½ tsp black pepper
3-4 cloves garlic minced
Red wine of choice
Directions:
- Cut chicken into bite-sized chunks and put in a zip top with almond flour. Shake to coat.
- Peel carrots and cut into ¼ inch slices. Set aside.
- If you choose to partake of the mushrooms, wash them and cut them into quarters. Set aside.
- Cut bacon into half inch strips (these little chunks of bacon are refered to as “lardons” by the French) Put into large skillet or stew pot over medium heat. Brown.
- Remove bacon.
- Add onions and carrots and cook until they start to caramelize (get brown and release their sugars), about 5-10 minutes. Remove the onions.
- If you are a mushroom eater, now is the time to add them and brown them. Pull them out and set them aside.
- Add chicken to the pot. Brown. Pull chicken out.
- Put garlic and tomato paste in the pot along with the rest of the almond flour from the chicken. Cook for a couple of minutes (be careful not to burn the garlic)
- Add in a little wine and scrape up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. (This is known as de-glazing)
- Add in half to three quarters of the bottle of wine. Add in spices, carrots, chicken, onions, and mushrooms. Cook for 10-15 minutes until the broth starts to thicken.
- Sprinkle bacon over the top and serve hot.
I like to serve this over spaghetti squash or zucchini that has been sliced into strips and sautéed until soft in olive oil and garlic.
This looks good and I like the serving suggestions. I also like the option of leaving the mushrooms out…my son doesn’t care for them. Looking forward to trying this.