National wine drinking Day 18th February

Chicken with sweet wine & garlic

Ingredients

2 tbsp seasoned flour

1 free-range chicken, about 1½ kg/3lb 5oz, jointed into 8 pieces

4-5 tbsp olive oil

2 shallots, finely chopped

200ml sweet wine, such as Sauternes

300ml chicken stock (see how to make your own below)

sprig each of parsley, thyme and bay tied with string

1 head garlic

50g butter

200g chestnut mushrooms

3 rounded tbsp crème fraîche

a little lemon juice if needed

Method

Tip the flour into a large food bag. Add the chicken pieces, two at a time, and shake well to coat evenly. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large pan, add a few pieces of chicken and fry on all sides until well browned. You’ll need to do this in batches and you may need a touch more oil or fat. Remove the pieces to a large saucepan or flameproof casserole.

Add 1 tbsp oil to the pan, add the shallots and fry gently until softened, but not browned. Add the wine and allow to bubble until it is reduced a little. Add the stock, herb bundle and seasoning and bring to the boil. Pour over the chicken.

Cover the pan tightly and simmer for 45 mins until the chicken is tender and the sauce thickened and reduced.

Meanwhile, separate the garlic head into individual cloves and put in a small pan with water to cover. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 20-25 mins until the garlic is tender. Drain and cool under running cold water. Peel the garlic.

Heat half the butter and a splash of oil in a frying pan. Add the mushrooms and cook quickly over a moderate heat until just softened. Tip into a bowl. Wipe out the pan and add the remaining butter and a splash of oil. Add the garlic and fry gently, shaking the pan until lightly browned. Season lightly.

Stir the mushrooms and crème fraîche into the chicken and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 mins, then taste and add more seasoning and a little lemon juice if it needs it. Spoon the chicken and sauce onto a warm platter and scatter with garlic.

I would serve this with vegetables of your choice and a nice crisp, cold white wine.

Pears in Gaillac doux

Give pears a boozy French treatment with this wine-friendly pudding recipe

serves 6

Ingredients

6 pears, Williams are best, ripe or nearly ripe

300ml sweet white wine

175g golden caster sugar

1 vanilla pod, split in half

Method

Peel and halve the pears. Spoon out and discard the core (try to keep the stems intact). Put the wine in a pan with the sugar and vanilla, and bring to the boil. Slide in the pears and top up with water just to cover. Simmer for 10-15 mins until tender. Test with a skewer, then carry on until they are fully tender - they can be rubbery if under-ripe and undercooked. Leave to cool in the pan, covered in the wine syrup.

An hour or so before serving, slice the pears and fan out or put the halves in a serving dish with the vanilla pod. Reduce the syrup to about 300ml, then pour over the pears and leave to cool, or cool the syrup and then drizzle over the pears.

by using the same sweet wine for both recipes, it leaves you enough sweet wine for 2 glasses to go with your dessert.