Chicken, Red Wine and Chocolate Stew
I’m not quite sure what anti-oxidants actually are, but I do know from reading the packet inserts of expensive face creams that adding them to my diet would help prevent heart disease, cancer, ageing and a range of other nasty events. So have I been eating the recommended daily dose of virtuous victuals? Of course I haven’t.
You see, I am in recovery from a shabby-chic 1970s childhood and as a result I feel strongly that I have already eaten more than my fair share of broccoli and brown rice. In reaction to the parentally enforced edible virtue of my early years, I have dedicated a considerable portion of my adult life to exploring the pleasures of unhealthy eating options. It’s got to the point where I suspect that I really would rather have bowel surgery in the woods with a stick than consciously seek out healthy food options. I am nothing if not an equal opportunities junk food junkie. From cloche covered, posh-nosh duck dinners through to charred chisa nyama chops, as long as it’s bad for me I love it.
But even ‘70s hippy kids get old and I, as I hurtle towards middle age with a toddler in tow, I am beginning to see and feel the error of my ways. I have had to concede that I now need to ease myself into a decent diet. Perhaps I am just playing for time, but I would argue that for me to jump straight into eating ‘proper’ healthy food would be too much of a shock for my poor abused system. So what I need is a culinary halfway house from whence to wean myself off my addiction to edible sin.
Imagine my joy when I discovered that chocolate is the world’s highest known source of anti-oxidants by a factor of five! And that red wine comes in close behind. The recipe below combines the two. It is adapted from a dish first created by Rachel Botes of Pretoria’s Carlton Café and, while I am not yet able to stomach the idea of tofu or wheat grass, the thought of chocolate, red wine and organic chicken stew is perfectly palatable to me.
The smooth chocolatey, mocca-laden plum flavours of a Shiraz-Pinotage blend perfectly complements the firm flesh of a well-raised chicken while the deep dense intensity of 70% cacao dark chocolate enriches and thickens the ruby red sauce.
I do know that I will ultimately need to move beyond chocolate and red wine if I mean to live long and prosper, but hey it’s a start...
Chicken, Red Wine and Chocolate Stew
SERVES FOUR
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1 chicken cut into portions
seasoned flour for coating
1 onion, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
a sprig of thyme
1 bay leaf
small cinnamon stick
300ml red wine
1 small glass of sherry
500ml chicken stock
45g blanched almonds
45g pine nuts/pistachio nuts
30g dark chocolate
2 tablespoons brandy
pinch of sugar or 1 teaspoon honey
salt and freshly ground pepper to season
1. Heat the oil in a large casserole dish and fry the garlic until lightly browned. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a mortar and set aside.
2. Coat the chicken in the seasoned flour and fry until browned, add the onion, carrot, thyme, bay leaf and cinnamon. Stir briefly to evenly distribute the vegetables then pour in the wine and sherry. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Bring the liquid to the boil and simmer gently for 40 minutes.
4. While the chicken is cooking, pound the garlic with the almonds and pine nuts or pistachio nuts together with the chocolate and brandy to make a paste.
5.Add the nut, chocolate and garlic paste to the chicken and allow it to blend into the sauce.
6.Simmer a few more minutes. Adjust the seasoning and add a bit of sugar or honey if the sauce is too bitter. Serve hot with rice, bread or mashed potato.
PERFECT PAIRING
Wine magazine recommends
RUST EN VREDE ESTATE CAB, SHIRAZ, MERLOT BLEND 2006
NOTES: Dark berries on the nose. Rich and full palate with sweet, dark fruit, vanilla and chocolate.
OTHER OPTIONS:
Columella 2008, Mont Destin Passioné 2007. For more tasting notes turn to page 76.
