This is an utterly superb winter stew. The first documented version of this dish was in white wine (poulet au vin blanc, "Cookery for English Households, by a French Lady", 1864) but is believed to have been around as a peasant dish for a long time prior.

There are many variations of this dish. For starters, you don't need a rooster (coq). There are vegetarian/vegan variants as well that will use lentils, white beans, faux chicken, etc. The wine can vary as well; red Burgundy wine is traditional, although one can do a coq au vin jaune, coq au riesling, coq au pourpre or coq au violet (using Beaujolais nouveau), and coq au champagne. Many like to include chunks of bacon; omitted in this version.

Marinate the chicken, onions, and carrot in the red wine for c12 hours. More than that and you'll start breaking down the meat fibres. Put it all in a large pot with the garlic, mushrooms, stock, basil, etc, and let simmer for 1.5 hours. To give a thick sauce take about half cups of the liquid and make a roux by mixing it with flour and return to the pot before serving with a crusty baguette.

4 chicken legs/thighs/breasts
2 large coarsely chopped onions
1 750ml bottle of wine
400g mushrooms
2 tablespoons of minced garlic
vegetable stock
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons of basil
2 large carrots, chopped
2 tablespoons plain flour