Coq au Vin with homemade tomato paste – Gluten-free version

👨‍🍳 Method

For the homemade tomato paste ✓ Homemade · or skip – back to store-bought

1. 1
   Wash the tomatoes, remove the cores and quarter each tomato.

   KnifeCutting board
2. 2
   Put the tomatoes, the salt and half of the olive oil in a wide pot, cover and cook over medium heat about 20 minutes, until the tomatoes soften and release their liquid.

   StoveWide, shallow pot
3. 3
   Pass the tomatoes and their liquid through a food mill or sieve and return the purée to the pot: the skins and seeds stay behind.

   Food millorFine sieve
4. 4
   Cook uncovered about an hour at a lively simmer, stirring now and then, until the purée reduces by half.

   StoveWooden spoon

   💡The paste burns easily as it dries: stir and scrape the bottom and edges, and once it is thick, don't walk away.
5. 5
   Preheat the oven to 110°C (230°F).

   Oven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
6. 6
   Grease a wide baking dish with the rest of the olive oil and pour in the purée in a thin layer. Dry in the oven about 3 hours, stirring and scraping the edges every 30 minutes, until the paste is thick, sticky and brick red.

   OvenBaking sheetSilicone spatula
7. 7
   Let the paste cool.

   Jar

To assemble

1. 8
   Season the chicken pieces with the salt and black pepper.
2. 9
   Spread the flour on a plate and roll the chicken pieces in it on all sides, to a thin, even layer.

   Plate
3. 10
   Heat the oil in a wide pot and brown the chicken pieces 4–5 minutes on all sides. Remove to a plate.

   StoveWide, shallow pot

   💡Brown the meat in batches, without crowding: in a crowded pot it stews in its own juices instead of searing.

   💡What you brown (meat, patties, schnitzel) goes into hot oil: in lukewarm oil it soaks it up and comes out greasy. For onion and garlic that you soften, oil heated over medium or low heat is enough; do not wait for it to smoke.
4. 11
   Add the shallots to the oil left in the wide pot and fry for 5–8 minutes, stirring, until the shallots turn golden.

   StoveWide, shallow pot

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
5. 12
   Add the garlic and fry about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   Stove
6. 13
   Add the mushrooms and fry 3 minutes, stirring, until the mushrooms release their liquid and it evaporates.

   Stove
7. 14
   Add the tomato paste and fry 1 minute, stirring.

   Stove
8. 15
   Add the wine, stock, bay leaves and thyme and bring to a boil.

   Stove
9. 16
   Return the chicken pieces to the pot.
10. 17
    Turn down to low, cover and simmer 45–50 minutes, until the chicken pieces soft.

    StoveLid

    💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
11. 18
    Remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs from the pot.
12. 19
    Serve with the parsley and with country bread.