Madison life - recipe: coq au vin

Preparation 20 minutes
Cooking 1½-2 hours
Serves 6

3 tbsp olive oil
50g butter
12 eschalots
350g small Swiss brown mushrooms (halved or quartered if large)
200g speck, rind removed and cut into small strips
3 cloves garlic, crushed
½ cup (125ml) brandy
6 chicken thighs on the bone
6 chicken legs
Sea salt and pepper
¼ cup (35g) flour
1 bottle (750ml) Burgundy or Cabernet Merlot
1½ cups (375ml) chicken stock
1½ tbsp Dijon mustard
3 bay leaves
¼ bunch thyme, tied with twine
18 baby or Dutch carrots, trimmed
800g baby potatoes (halved if large)
Crusty baguette, to serve 

1 Preheat the oven to 180ºC (160ºC fan-forced). Heat half the olive oil and butter in an ovenproof pan over medium-high heat.
2 Add the eschalots, mushrooms and speck to the pan and cook for 8-10 minutes until golden, stirring regularly.
3 Add the garlic and brandy and cook for a further 3 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan to remove any sediment. Remove from the pan into a large bowl.
4 Add the remaining butter and olive oil to the pan. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and brown in 2 batches to avoid overcrowding the pan.
5 Place each browned batch in the bowl with the speck, mushrooms and eschalots. Add the flour to the pan and cook for 1 minute while stirring.
6 Add the wine, stock, mustard, bay leaves and thyme to the pan and stir slowly to disperse the flour through the liquid.
7 Return the chicken, eschalots, mushrooms and speck to the pan and add the carrots and potatoes. Bring to the boil and place in the oven for 1 to 1½ hours until the chicken is meltingly tender.
8 Remove from the oven and skim off any excess fat. Take out the thyme and bay leaves and serve with crusty baguette.