Nigel Slater S Coq Au Riesling

For my birthday a week or so ago, I was spoiled with something I have wanted for a very, VERY long time. A perfect, white Le Creuset 30cm Buffet Casserole. Well that was my idea anyway. I went to my local Le Creuset store very much intent on buying one of the pristine beauties but was told that the white range only gets made twice a year in France and as it’s also a very popular range, it gets sold out relatively quickly. I took to Twitter to see if anyone could help me and within minutes the amazing folk at Le Creuset South Africa tweeted me back saying they are going to search high and low and within 24 hours they had located the very last white buffet casserole in the country and had it sent to my local store. I mean, is there anyone that does customer service better? Anyway, so buffet casserole purchased, I needed something to christen it with. A good friend suggested that I make Nigel Slater’s Coq au Riesling from his book Real Food and I knew it had to be. I tweeted about it (well of course) and what do you know, Mr Slater himself shared my sentiment that this dish was made for my dish. You should make this if you like chicken. If you like mushrooms. If you like creamy sauces. If you like Food. And most importantly if you like a bit of plate licking. This recipe is so gosh-darn delicious that I did, in fact, lick my plate. While it’s cooking, the scent of onion, garlic, mushrooms and wine will waft through your house, teasing your senses and when you take your first bite, you will swoon. The chicken was soft and succulent and the sauce deeply savoury. Serve it with steamed rice or on top of al dente pasta or as I did, with a loaf of crusty bread to mop up the sauce. A zesty green salad won’t be out of place either. For this recipe in Afrikaans (along with the most beautiful writing by my talented friend), click here.