Coq au Vin

Cook bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp. Lift out, leaving the fat.

Season chicken thigh with salt and black pepper and brown well in the bacon fat in batches, skin side first, about 8 minutes per batch. Set aside.

Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat. Brown shallot and carrots for 5 minutes, add garlic, tomato paste and all purpose flour and stir 1 minute.

Pour in red wine and chicken broth, scraping up the browned bits, and add thyme, bay leaf, the browned chicken and the crisp bacon. Bring to a simmer, cover and braise in a 160 C oven until the chicken is very tender, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, brown mushrooms in olive oil in a skillet until golden. Stir into the braised chicken, then simmer uncovered on the stove for 10 minutes to thicken the sauce. Remove the herbs and scatter with parsley.