Wine braise produces tender, flavourful chicken

This riff on the classic French coq au vin is a one-pot wonder that comes together almost effortlessly and leaves plenty of room for improvisation. After all, the hallmark of French country cooking is making use of whatever is on hand.

You begin with a saute of garlic, onions and traditional seasonings. This recipe then calls for red bell pepper, carrots and olives, but any combination of mushrooms, peas, parsnips, potatoes or other sturdy vegetables would be great.

Bone-in, skin-on chicken then is added to the pot and lightly browned. To lighten the recipe, boneless, skinless chicken breasts could be used, though they won't brown as nicely.

Red wine and chicken broth are added to form the braising liquid, but white wine could be substituted. If you use white, consider also adding minced jarred jalapeno peppers or a pinch of chili powder.

Serve this brightly coloured chicken with heaps of rice to soak up the sauce.

Red Wine Braised Chicken

30 ml (2 tbsp) olive oil

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 large yellow onion, diced

1 large carrot, chopped

1 red bell pepper, cored and diced

250 ml (1 cup) kalamata olives, chopped

5 ml (1 tsp) dried thyme

5 ml (1 tsp) dried basil

1.5 kg to 1.6 kg (3 to 3 1/4 lb) bone-in, skin-on chicken legs and thighs

500 ml (2 cups) chicken broth

500 ml (2 cups) red wine

15 ml (1 tbsp) currant jelly

22 ml (1 1/2 tbsp) cornstarch

30 ml (2 tbsp) water

Salt and ground black pepper, to taste

In a large Dutch oven over medium-high, combine olive oil, garlic, onion, carrot, bell pepper, olives, thyme and basil. Saute until onion and pepper are just tender, about 8 minutes.

Add chicken and use tongs to turn and brown on all sides. Add broth, wine and currant jelly. Mix well, bring to a simmer, then cover, reduce heat to simmer and cook for 25 minutes.

Use tongs to transfer chicken to a plate and cover with foil. In a small cup, mix together cornstarch and water, then add to Dutch oven. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve chicken with sauce ladled over it.

Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition information per serving (values are rounded to the nearest whole number and assume the skin of the chicken is discarded after cooking): 570 calories, 261 calories from fat, 29 g fat (7 g saturated, 0 g trans fats), 200 mg cholesterol, 10 g carbohydrate, 60 g protein, 2 g fibre, 649 mg sodium.