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oil
    2 tbsp butter
    100g smoked pancetta, in a piece, rind removed, cut into large cubes
    salt and freshly ground black pepper
    1 tbsp flour
    20 pearl onions, peeled (cover with boiling water for a couple of minutes to ease peeling)
    20 button mushrooms
    3 tbsp Cognac
    The first time I made coq au vin, aged about sixteen, it turned out as a bit of a purple, watery mess. The wine was cheap (I think Dad may have gone down the Hirondelle route, assuming you may recall that particular vinous delight), with the taste insipid as a result. The bacon—well … it was just any old bacon, probably. The chicken itself, then, was probably quite a good one, but I had overcooked it so much, the breast parts turned to rags. Mum, bless her, thought the mushrooms were the best part. “Nice and juicy,” she said. I certainly remember that bit.
    You may be pleased to know I’m better at it now. So, read on … Try not to miss out the preliminary cooking of the wine, together with its useful aromatics.
    Put the first 9 ingredients into a stainless steel or enameled pot and bring to the boil. Leave over a medium flame until reduced by one third. Strain through a fine sieve and cool completely. Marinate the chicken pieces in this for at least 5–6 hours or, preferably, overnight.
    Warm the olive oil and butter in a solid-bottomed pot or frying pan and gently fry the pancetta until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve. Season the chicken joints and roll in the flour, then fry until golden brown in the olive oil/fat remaining from the pancetta. Remove these, too, and put with the reserved pancetta.
    Now tip the onions and mushrooms into the pot and gently cook until well colored—about 10 minutes. Tip out all the fat, return the chicken and bacon to the pot, turn up the heat and pour over the Cognac. Set alight, allow the flames to die down and then add the reserved, reduced wine. Shake about a bit, allowing everything to settle down, then cover and put on a very low heat. Simmer at a merest “blip,” partially covered, for about 1 hour. Alternatively, use an oven preheated to 325°F.
    Serve the coq au vin with simply boiled or steamed potatoes, lubricated with melted butter. You may also like to garnish the dish in a classical manner, by frying some little bread triangles, dipping their edges in some of the red wine sauce, and then in chopped parsley.
    Note: a good coq au vin tastes infinitely better reheated the next day. This also allows for any fat that has collected on the surface to be easily removed, having solidified in the fridge.

poached eggs in coq au vin gravy
    serves 1
    2 very fresh eggs, poached (see page 57 )
    some reserved sauce and pancetta from leftover coq au vin (see page 69 )
    chopped parsley
    And here is a delicious way to use up leftover sauce from a coq au vin. If there is not enough pancetta left, cook a bit more, but don’t bother to add any mushrooms or onions; this is all about eggs, bacon and red wine. You may want to do the bread triangles here, too (see opposite). Pop one under each egg and omit the dippy-parsley thing; just sprinkle some over the eggs.
    Incidentally, if you have ever read Edouard de Pomiane’s
Cooking in Ten Minutes,
you will understand how very nice a dainty little dish such as this can be.
    Put the freshly poached eggs into a small, heated dish. Heat up some of the sauce and pancetta from leftover coq au vin. Pour over the eggs and garnish with chopped parsley. Eat at once.

baked trout with Chablis, cream & tarragon
    serves 2
    4 tbsp softened butter
    2–3 shallots, sliced
    2 trout
    5–6 sprigs of tarragon
    salt and freshly ground black pepper
    9 oz Chablis
    7 oz whipping cream
    squeeze of lemon juice, to taste
    An underrated little fish is the trout. Yes, it may now be farmed, but it is generally as fresh as a daisy because of this. Long gone are regular supplies of wild brown trout from British rivers, more is the pity. But also, pity not the delicacy that a carefully farmed