Chicken in Balsamic and Mustard

 Balsamic and Wine Chicken 

An easy to prepare chicken dish with lots of garlic, leftover wine, mustard, and the star ingredient, balsamic vinegar. This can be prepared with rabbit and beef too. The dish is hearty and best served with garlic bread to mop up the delicious gravy.

Serves 6 to 8

2 kg/4.4 chicken, in pieces
Salt and pepper to season
50 g/2 oz butter
A whole pod of garlic
4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 large finely chopped onion
1 tsp tomato puree
1 cup of white OR red wine
1 tbsp fresh coriander leaves (or parsley)
1 1/4 cup cream
3 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 cup water

 

    

Season the chicken pieces with salt and freshly ground black pepper. 

In a pan, melt the butter. Fry the chicken till golden brown. It takes about 15 minutes, skin side down. Add to this all the cloves of unpeeled garlic and keep cooking for yet another 10-12 minutes. Turn the chicken over and cook for another 10 minutes.

Now add the balsamic vinegar and let it bubble vigorously. Remove the chicken and keep it aside.

In the same pan, sauté the finely chopped onion for a few minutes until it begins to color, then add the tomato puree and mix. Pour in the wine, bring it to a boil, and cook until it has been reduced by half. Add to this fresh coriander and finally the cream. Now, with a fork, press out all the garlic and stir it into the sauce. Finally, add the mustard and water and give it all a good stir. Put all the chicken back into the pan and heat it on a simmer for 20 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse.

Serve with a tossed green salad and crusty French or garlic bread.

Tips
Use a tbsp or two of fresh chopped chives to finish the dish. If you don't have any, sprinkle with fresh coriander or any other fresh herb. 

It should not be cooking wine, but whatever you enjoy drinking. 
The colour will be lighter or darker depending on the wine. 

You can replace olive oil with butter, or use half butter and half oil. 

I generally do not use chicken with skin on, but this recipe does seem to be the exception. If you prefer skinless, it all works, but bones are important to the flavour. 

Buying a whole roasted chicken, removing the skin, cutting it into pieces, and adding the pieces to the sauce to infuse is another option too.

My published cookbooks are available for sale through myself and on Amazon.

The World of Parsi Cooking: Food Across Borders is a 3 award winning book. It has been self published in July 2019 and will be going into its second print in 2022. 

The Art of Parsi Cooking; reviving an ancient cuisine was published in 2016 by Austin Macauley and continues to be available through amazon book depot book depository and from the publishers.