Coq au Riesling

Active: 45 min; Total: 1 hr 30 min 4 to 6 servings

At GrUner in Portland, Oregon, chef Christopher Israel cooks dishes from central Europe, and beverage director Greg Cantu sources wines to match. This creamy braised chicken is fantastic with rich-but-dry Rieslings from Austria's Wachau, made with the harvest's ripest grapes. Try the Prager Achleiten or the Rudi Pichler Terrassen.

INGREDIENTS
4 pounds chicken legs, split
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
¼ cup canola oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
2 medium shallots, chopped
1 ½ cups dry Riesling
1 ½ cups chicken stock
4 thyme sprigs
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb mixed mushrooms, sliced
½ cup crème fraiche
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
Finely chopped tarragon, for garnish

1. Preheat the oven to 3000. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. In a large, enam-eled cast-iron casserole, heat 2 tablespoons of the canola oil. Add half of the chicken and cook over moderately high heat, turning, until browned, 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Cook the remaining chicken, then pour off the fat and wipe out the casserole.
2. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of canola oil in the casserole. Add the onion, carrot, celery and shallots and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until the vegetables are soft-ened and lightly browned, 8 minutes. Add the wine and simmer for 1 minute, scraping up the browned bits from the pot. Add the chicken stock and thyme and bring to a boil.
3. Nestle the chicken in the casserole; cover and braise in the oven for 1 hour, until tender.
4. Meanwhile, in a very large skillet, melt the butter in the olive oil. Add the mushrooms and cook over high heat, without stirring, until well browned, 5 minutes. Season the mush-rooms with salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until tender, 3 to 5 minutes: transfer to a plate.
5. Transfer the chicken to a plate. Strain the braising liquid through a fine sieve into a heatproof bowl, pressing on the solids; skim off the fat. Return the braising liquid to the casserole and boil until reduced to 11/2 cups, 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk in the crème fraiche and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Add the mushrooms and chicken to the sauce and simmer for 3 minutes. Garnish with tarragon and serve.