Method

Joint the chicken into eight pieces*. Place in a dish with bay leaves, thyme, and full bottle of red wine, season with a good sprinkling of salt and pepper. Cover and leave to marinate in the fridge overnight.

Next Day:

Separate the head of garlic into cloves, drizzle with olive oil and place onto a square of tin foil.  Close up foil and place in the over to roast for an hour, or until soft and creamy. This will be served as a garnish with the chicken.

Season the flour with a little salt and pepper and place in a small tray.  Remove the chicken from the marinade and roll in the flour, dust off any excess and set aside.

Place a large saucepan on a moderate heat and add a tablespoon of butter.  Gently brown the chicken on all sides – add an extra touch of butter if needed.  Once brown, remove the chicken and set aside.  Add a further tablespoon of butter and fry off the bacon lardons. Add the peeled baby onions, once browned, add the mushrooms and carrots. Continue to fry until all ingredients are evenly browned.

Stir in one tablespoon of the seasoned flour. Remove the bay leaves and thyme from the red wine marinade mixture and set aside. De-glaze the saucepan using the red wine, bring to a boil and then add the bay leaves and thyme back in.

Use a wooden spoon to scrape the base of the saucepan when de-glazing, to ensure you loosen all the yummy, sticky bits from the base.

Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and add the chicken stock, as well as the chicken back into the pot.  Stir in the tomato puree and cook over a gentle heat for approximately 45 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.

Wash and chop the parsley and sprinkle over the top.

Serve with the slow roasted garlic, your favourite potato dish, and green beans tossed in butter.

Note:

To joint the chicken into eight pieces: cut down either side of the backbone keeping your knife scraping onto the bone.  Cut through the joints at the wing and thigh.  Separate the breast and wing from the thigh and drumstick.  Cut the breast in half leaving the wing attached.  Cut the front of the wing bone off.  Separate the drumstick and thigh by cutting through the joint.