This coq au vin pie is a chicken pie like no other! Full of smoky pancetta, rich wine and heady garlic flavours, you’re going to love it.
Coq au vin is a classic – at its simplest, it is chicken cooked in wine. It’s one of my favourite comfort foods. And what could be better than combining that with another incredible comfort food – pie?
Topping the coq au vin with a puff pastry lid turns it into a complete meal and it is just such a treat. If you prefer a filo pastry lid, you’ll like my Leftover Roast Chicken, Leek and Mushroom Filo Pie.
The Ingredients
- Chicken thighs – this recipe is at its best when you use skin on, bone in chicken thighs. I have tried the recipe with bite size pieces of chicken breast and thigh, and it’s just not as good. The taste benefits you get from skin on, bone in chicken thighs are way higher than the slight inconvenience of eating around the bones.
- Smoked pancetta – you could use smoked bacon if you can’t get hold of pancetta.
- Onion and garlic – use a brown onion. Feel free to increase the amount of garlic!
- Mushrooms – I use button mushrooms in this recipe – they’re classic. You can use any mushrooms, though – just cut them into smaller pieces if they’re larger than button mushrooms.
- Plain flour – to thicken the sauce.
- Red wine – you use a whole bottle of red wine in this recipe, which might sound like a lot – but as the sauce simmers, that red wine taste will mellow and become beautiful. Use a nice tasting bottle of red – if it doesn’t taste nice to drink, it won’t taste nice in the pie!
- Thyme – fresh thyme brings some delicious earthy flavour.
- Puff pastry – I use shop bought puff pastry – it’s just easier. You can, of course, make your own! This pie would also be lovely with shortcrust rather than puff pastry, if you prefer.
How to Cook Coq au Vin Pie
- 1. Brown the chicken thighs in olive oil (you don’t need to cook them through at this stage, just get some good colour on them).
- 2. In a separate pan, cook pancetta until golden then add onion, garlic and button mushrooms.
- 3. Add flour and give it a good stir (this helps to thicken the sauce).
- 4. Gradually add the red wine, stirring all the time, and sprinkle in some thyme. Turn down to a simmer and let it cook for 1 hour.
- 5. Top with your puff pastry lid, egg wash and put in the oven for 30-40 minutes until golden.
Top Tips
- Precooking the chicken – You cook the chicken – mostly skin side down – to get a good bit of colour on the outside at the first stage of this recipe. You can do this in a pan, then remove the chicken and cook the pancetta etc in the same pan, but I like to do them separately so that you can get them both cooking at the same time. Remember that you don’t need to fully cook the chicken at this stage – it will get plenty of cooking time later on in the sauce.
- Sauce consistency – The sauce here is not too thick, it’s like a stew sauce rather than a really thick traditional pie sauce. If you would like it to be thicker, just add a little extra flour.
- To serve – This pie is fantastic served with peas, kale and mashed potatoes. Or just eat it by itself!
Coq au Vin Pie (Chicken in Wine Pie)
Chicken thighs cooked in a rich red wine sauce with mushrooms and pancetta, topped with puff pastry.
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Ingredients
- 1 kilograms chicken thighs skin on, bone in
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 100 grams smoked pancetta diced
- 1 onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 200 grams button mushrooms
- 2 tablespoons plain flour
- 75 cl red wine
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
- 300 grams puff pastry
Instructions
- Season the chicken well with salt and pepper. Put a large pan on a medium heat and add the oil. When it’s hot, add the chicken skin side down. Cook for 6-7 minutes, until golden, then flip and cook for another minute. Turn off the heat. Do this in batches if you need to.
- Meanwhile, put another pan on a medium heat and add the diced pancetta. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the fat is running out.
- Peel and chop the onion and garlic. Add to the pan with the pancetta and cook for 2-3 more minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for 5 more minutes, stirring frequently.
- Tip in the flour and stir well. Add the wine, gradually at first, stirring all the time. Add the thyme and the chicken thighs, then turn down the heat to low and cook at a gentle simmer for an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
- Pour the chicken filling into a large oven proof dish. Roll the pastry out to 5mm thick (if it is not ready rolled) and place over the dish. Use the back of a fork to crimp down the edges, and pierce a hole in the middle.
- Put in the oven for 40 minutes, until puffed up, golden and crisp.
Video
Rich, decadent and delicious- perfect for your next special dinner