John Cesters Poultry & Game Meat

Venison & Game Meat Melbourne

Red Wine and Chocolate Chicken

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SERVES 4
INGREDIENTS 20
DIFFICULTY Easy
Matt Preston's red wine and chocolate chicken
Matt Preston’s red wine and chocolate chicken

For Easter, the chocolate doesn’t have to come in bunny form – we love this recipe too.

INGREDIENTS

  • 50g unsalted butter
  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 3 x 5mm-thick slices speck, chopped
  • 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
  • 16 whole eschalots
  • 200g button mushrooms
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1.8kg whole chicken, jointed into 8 pieces
  • 2 tbs plain flour
  • 2 tbs tomato paste
  • 3 cups (750ml) red wine
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 oregano sprigs, plus extra to serve
  • 1/2 bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves chopped, stalks reserved
  • 2 cups (500ml) chicken stock
  • 6 allspice berries
  • 2 each whole cloves and cinnamon quills
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 20g dark (70%) chocolate, grated
  • Buttered steamed brown rice, to serve

METHOD

  • 1: Preheat oven to 180°C. Place half the butter and oil in a casserole over medium heat. Cook speck, celery and eschalots for 3-4 minutes until softened. Add mushrooms and garlic, and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes until fragrant. Remove from pan and set aside. Return casserole to medium heat with remaining 25g butter and 1 tbs oil. Season chicken with salt and cook, in 2 batches, turning, for 6-8 minutes until golden. Remove from pan and set aside.
  • 2: Return all chicken to pan. Sprinkle with flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until browned. Add tomato paste and cook for a further 1 minute, then add wine, scraping the bottom of the pan. Tie together bay, oregano and reserved parsley stalks to make a bouquet garni and add to pan with stock and spices. Bring to the boil, then cover with a lid. Transfer to oven and cook for 50 minutes or until tender.
  • 3: Strain chicken and vegetables and set aside, discarding cinnamon and bouquet garni. Return sauce to medium heat and bring to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes or until slightly reduced and thickened, then whisk in chocolate. Pour sauce over chicken and scatter with extra oregano. Serve with buttered brown rice.

Spiced Quail with
 Chocolate Gravy

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Everyone loves it – who says CHOCOLATE can’t be apart of a main dish at dinner time or lunch?

(serves 4)

Ingredients 9f25fda1-3876-45b9-91d5-1a95b952d878
1 tbsp. coriander
1 tsp. cumin seeds
5 allspice berries
3 tbsp. smoked paprika
1 tbsp. benne seeds
1 large clove garlic
½ tsp. salt
¼ cup canola or other neutral oil
¼ cup orange juice
4 quail, semi-boneless
2 to 4 large peanuts

Chocolate Gravy
4 tbsp. cocoa powder
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1¼ cups whole milk
2½ tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
¹⁄³ tsp. cayenne
2 tbsp. butter

Preparation
Toast coriander, cumin seeds, and allspice berries in a sauté pan until fragrant. Cool two or three minutes, then grind in a spice grinder until powdery. Place ground spices in a small mixing bowl and add paprika and benne seeds. Mix well.

Chop garlic, sprinkle with salt, and mash into a paste using the side of a knife. Add garlic, canola oil, and orange juice to the spices and mix thoroughly.

Snip wing tips off quail. Pour rub over quail, turning to coat.

Marinate at least one hour but no longer than six hours.

Prepare a medium-hot grill and cook each bird for seven to nine minutes, turning once, until medium-rare.

Gravy preparation
Combine first six ingredients in a saucepan. Cook over medium until thickened, whisking often to reduce lumps. Remove from heat and stir in butter. (The sauce can be reserved while the quail cooks. Just loosen with a few tablespoons of water as you reheat it.)

To serve, pool a bit of gravy on a plate, top with a quail, drizzle with chocolate gravy, and then, using a micro plane, shave peanuts over each bird.

We hope you and your families have a Happy Easter, don’t eat too much chocolate! – From the team at John Cester’s Poultry & Game.