WINE RECIPES RECIPES

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/gas 5.
  2. Joint the chicken into 8 pieces. Heat a lug of oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Season the chicken, add it to the pan in batches, and fry until golden all over. Set aside on a plate.
  3. Peel and cut the onions into wedges, chop the carrots, then peel and finely chop the garlic.
  4. Add the veg to the pan and gently sauté for about 15 minutes over a medium-low heat, or until soft and sticky but not coloured.
  5. Return the chicken to the pan. Pick, finely chop and add the rosemary, then stir in the flour. Turn up the heat to medium-high and leave to colour for a few minutes.
  6. Pour in the wine and bring to the boil, then lower the heat and let it reduce by half.
  7. Roughly chop and add the potatoes, pour in the stock, and bring it back to the boil.
  8. Transfer everything to a roasting tin and cook in the oven for 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and the chicken is falling off the bone.
  9. Place the grapes in a small roasting dish, drizzle with a little oil and cook these in the oven for the last 20 minutes, or until caramelised.
  10. Stir the grapes into the chicken, finely chop and scatter over the parsley leaves, and serve.

Steps:

• Halve the vanilla pod lengthways, scrape out the black seeds and put in a large saucepan with the wine, sugar, cinnamon and thyme. Cut each piece of pod into three long thin strips, add to pan, then lower in the pears.
• Poach the pears, covered, for 20-30 mins, making sure they are covered in the wine. The cooking time will very much depend on the ripeness of your pears – they should be tender all the way through when pierced with a cocktail stick. You can make these up to 2 days ahead and chill.
• Take the pears from the pan, then boil the liquid to reduce it by half so that it’s syrupy. Serve each pear with the cooled syrup, a strip of vanilla, a piece of cinnamon and a small thyme sprig.