Lunch: Poulet au Vin Rouge "Chicken with Red Wine"

Recipe by Jacques Pepin Recipe courtesy of Jacques Pepin.

Ingredients

1 small Chicken
12 small pearl onions
2 tbsp. virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 c. water
4 large mushrooms
1/3 c. finely chopped onion
3 clove garlic
1 1/4 c. dry, fruity red wine
1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves or 1 sprig fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. Freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp. red wine
1 tsp. potato starch

Instructions

To make the chicken: Cut the chicken into four pieces (two breasts with wings and two legs). Cut off the wings, and divide them at the joints into three pieces each. Skin and bone the breasts. Set the breasts aside with the two meatier wing pieces. (Freeze the bones and wing tips for future use.) Skin the legs, and separate the thighs from the drumsticks by cutting through them at the joint. Cut the ends off the drumsticks. Leave in the thigh and drum bones. Set the legs aside with the breasts and reserved wing pieces.
Place the pearl onions with 1 tablespoon of the oil, the sugar, and the water in a large saucepan, and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil for a few minutes, or until the water has evaporated and the onions start frying. Cook until the onions are browned on all sides. Add the mushrooms, and sauté for 1 minute. Set aside, covered.
In a large skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil. When hot, sauté the chicken wing pieces for 2 to 3 minutes, until lightly browned on all sides. Add the leg pieces, and brown them for 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Repeat with the breasts. Set all the chicken pieces aside.
To the drippings in the skillet, add the chopped onion, and sauté for 1 minute. Then add the garlic, and cook for about 10 seconds. Add the wine, thyme, bay leaves, salt, and pepper, and bring to a boil. Return the dark meat and the wings to the pan, cover, and boil very gently for 8 minutes.
Add the chicken breasts, and boil gently for another 7 minutes. This brings the total cooking time to 15 minutes for the dark meat and only 7 minutes for the breast meat.
Add the dissolved potato starch to the pan, and stir until the pan juices are thickened. Then add the pearl onions and mushrooms with their juices to the red wine sauce.
For the croutons: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Trim the crusts from the bread, and cut the slices diagonally to form two triangles. Trim each triangle to form a heart-shaped crouton.
Spread the oil on a cookie sheet, and press the croutons into the oil so they are moistened on both sides. Bake at 400 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes, until nicely browned.
At serving time, dip the tip of each crouton in the sauce to moisten it and then into the chopped parsley. Cut the chicken breast pieces in half, and serve one piece of breast, one piece of drum or thigh meat, and one piece of wing per person with two croutons. Sprinkle the remaining chopped parsley over the chicken and garnishes.

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