Let me start by saying that this is not your typical Coq au Vin, and purists should turn away quickly and hide their eyes. Now, with this disclaimer out of the way, I can honestly say that this is the coziest of all winter soups, with all the traditional flavors of Coq au Vin, minus the hours of cooking time and the red wine.
“No red wine?”, you might ask in horror. How can a Coq au Vin wanna be recipe not have red wine? I’ll tell you. What was removed by leaving out the red wine was replaced by deeply flavorful sherry and a luscious bright white wine which, when combined with chicken broth and all the wonderful vegetables and seasonings make for a truly crave-worthy comfort meal that’s ready in no time at all.
But that’s not all, I replaced the traditional whole chicken parts which take hours to simmer and sometimes end up being overcooked, with tender, juicy, meatballs. These are packed with parmesan, parsley and garlic and cooked in a richly flavorful broth.
And the beauty of this dish is that it’s ready in a fraction of the time that it would take to make Coq Au Vin. You don’t even have to ignite the cognac which, I don’t know about you, has always scared the daylights out of me. That’s really all the changes. I promise!
The rest of the traditional wonderful ingredients are there. Bacon, carrots, onions, thyme, garlic, and mushrooms are all still a part of this mix. And because Coq au Vin pairs so well with mashed potatoes, I threw in some store bought potato gnocchi just for kicks.
The Dishy Details
I started by making the meatballs. Ground chicken, parmesan, garlic, parsley, bread crumbs, one egg and a splash of white wine all went into a bowl along with some salt and pepper. I then gave everything a good stir, and rolled the mixture into little meatballs (about 1 1/4 inch in size). I layered the meatballs on a parchment lined baking sheet and stuck them into the fridge while I got the soup going.
I chopped the vegetables and then proceeded to sauté the bacon in a large Dutch oven. Let’s be honest, no good story begins without bacon. Then I removed the bacon and reserved it for later.
The meatballs went into the pot next, just long enough to brown them on all sides. The goal was to lightly sear the meatballs but not fully cook them as I wanted to finish cooking them later on in the broth.
Once done, I removed the meatballs and added the onions, carrots, mushrooms and cooked them for a bit, until they were slightly tender. I then added the garlic and cooked the whole thing for one more minute.
Here’s where things got really interesting. I added the cognac and sherry and allowed them to simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes. This helped to deglaze the pan and cook off some of the alcohol, while retaining the beautiful flavors of these two additions. The white wine went in next and that simmered (uncovered) for about 10 minutes before adding the chicken broth and thyme along with salt and pepper. I then brought the whole thing to a boil, reduced the heat and allowed the soup to simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes. The meatballs then went back into the pot and everything continued to simmer for another 10 minutes.
That’s all there is to it. You can either serve the soup at that point topped off with some of the reserved bacon, or you can add some store bought gnocchi which is what I did.
If you do decide to add the gnocchi, cook it separately according to the package directions and add it directly into individual bowls then ladle the soup on top. Because gnocchi cooks quickly and tends to absorb a ton of liquid you don’t want to cook them in the soup.
I hope that you decide to give this ‘Coq Au Vin’ Soup with Potato Gnocchi recipe a whirl. If you do, please let me know what you think, or tag me on Instagram. I always love to hear from everyone and to see photos of any recipes that you make. And above all, thanks so much for stopping by.
‘Coq Au Vin’ Soup With Potato Gnocchi
Ingredients
Meatballs:
- 1½ lb ground chicken
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ cup unseasoned bread crumbs
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- 1½ tbs parsley, finely chopped (plus extra for serving)
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 2 tbs white wine
Soup:
- 4 slices thick cut bacon, diced
- 2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
- 3 medium carrots, medium diced
- 1 yellow onion, medium diced
- ½ lb shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 10 cups chicken stock (homemade or store bought low sodium)
- 2 cups white wine
- ½ cup cognac or brandy
- ½ cup sherry wine
- 1 tbs thyme, chopped
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- ¾ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 lb potato gnocchi
Instructions
Meatballs:
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the chicken, parmesan, garlic, parsley, bread crumbs, salt and pepper in a medium mixing bowl. Add the egg and wine then mix to combine. Roll the meat into 1 – 1¼ inch in size balls (I used a one inch ice cream scoop). You'll have about 30 meatballs.
- Place the meatballs on the parchment lined baking sheet and refrigerate while you move on to the next step.
- Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until lightly brown (about 10 minutes). Using a slotted spoon, remove the bacon to a plate.
- In batches, add the meatballs to the pot and lightly brown on all sides. Remove to a plate and keep warm. The meatballs will not be fully cooked at this point. This is fine as they will finish cooking later in the broth.
- Add the carrots, onions and mushrooms to the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are slightly tender (about 10 minutes). Add the garlic and cook for 1 additional minute.
- Add the cognac and sherry and deglaze the pan. Simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes.
- Add the white wine and thyme and simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes.
- Add the chicken stock, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes. Return the meatballs to the pot and continue to simmer for another 10 minutes or until the meatballs are fully cooked.
- Once the soup is ready, cook the potato gnocchi in a separate pot according to package directions (this should only take a few minutes). Add a few of the gnocchi to each bowl, ladle in the soup and top with the reserved bacon and parsley. Enjoy!