Have you ever tried Chicken In Red Wine Reduction-Pollo al Vin Cotto? Tender chicken cooked in a wine reduction sauce with capers, raisins, pinenuts, and almonds is a delectable, exciting dish. Perfect for a dinner party or special occasion.
What is vin cotto?
Vin Cotto means cooked wine. In Italy, it is a dark, sweet, thick paste produced in rural areas. It is made by the slow cooking and reduction over many hours of non-fermented grape must until it has been reduced to about one-fifth of its original volume and the sugars present have caramelized.
In this recipe, we have pollo al vin cotto, aka chicken in red wine reduction. I first saw this recipe in a morning TV show. A famous Italian-American chef was cooking it on GMA with Dianne Sawyer, and I was so intrigued by it. Immediately, I gathered the ingredients and made it for dinner. My husband Daryl and I loved the chicken in the sweet, thick vin cotto sauce.
Why you should make red wine reduction chicken
- Easy to Make: Don’t let the red wine reduction intimidate you! This chicken recipe may seem complicated, but it is simple to make. Be organized, follow the directions, add the ingredients at the right time, and voila! An excellent red wine reduction chicken-pollo a la vin cotto is ready to wow everyone.
- Budget Friendly: Making a decadent meal like red wine reduction chicken at home is a real treat. You need a whole chicken, a bottle of inexpensive yet decent red wine, and a couple of everyday pantry ingredients for a restaurant-worthy dish.
Here are your ingredients
For the Vin Cotto
- Dry red wine
- Honey
- Cinnamon sticks
- Cloves
For the chicken
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Chicken cut in 8 pieces, or thighs and drumsticks
- Onion and carrots
- Green olives
- Raisins
- Capers
- Pine nuts
- Almonds
- Red wine vinegar
- Sugar
- Chili flakes
- Parsley finely chopped
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
This is what you do
Make the vin cotto
Combine the wine, honey, cinnamon sticks and cloves in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until reduced to one cup. Remove from heat and let the vin cotto cool;
Make the chicken
In a large skillet, heat two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over high heat. Season the chicken with sea salt and freshly ground pepper, add the pieces skin side down to the pan, and brown on both sides, about 4 minutes per side.
Reduce the heat to medium, and add the onion and carrots. Cook, stirring, until the chicken gets more color and the onions and carrots start caramelizing.
Add the olives, raisins, capers, pine nuts, and almonds to the pan. Stir and add half a cup of the vin cotto. Deglaze the pan, scraping and stirring the fond (browned bits on the bottom), and boil until liquids are reduced by half. Add the remaining vin cotto and bring to a boil.
In a small bowl, combine the vinegar and sugar. Add to the pan and cook, stirring. The sauce will reduced to a glaze. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
Serve the chicken and sauce on a platter with a drizzle of olive oil, chili flakes, and chopped parsley.
Did you try our recipe? GREAT! Please rate the recipe below!Â
Red Wine Reduction Chicken-Pollo al Vino Cotto
Ingredients
For the Vino Cotto
- 4½ cups red wine
- ½ cup honey
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 3 cloves
For the chicken
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 lb whole chicken cut in 8 pieces, or thighs and drumsticks
- 1 onion
- 2 carrots
- ½ cup green olives
- 3 tablespoons raisins
- 1 tablespoon capers
- 1 tablespoon pine nuts
- 3 tablespoons blanched almonds
- 1 cup red wine vinegar
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon chili flakes
- ¼ cup parsley finely chopped
- sea salt
- freshly ground pepper
Instructions
Make the vino cotto
- Combine all the ingredients in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced to 1 cup (about 20 minutes). Remove from the heat and let cool; remove the cinnamon sticks and cloves before using.
Make the chicken vino cotto
- In a 10- to 12-inch sauté pan, heat two tablespoons of the olive oil over high heat until very hot but not smoking. Season the chicken with sea salt, add skin side down to the pan, and brown on both sides, about 4 minutes per side.
- Reduce the heat to medium, add the onion and carrots, and cook, stirring, until deep golden brown.
- Add the olives, raisins, capers, pine nuts, and almonds to the pan, stirring well. Add ½cup of the vin cotto to deglaze the pan, stirring up the browned bits on the bottom, then boil until reduced by half. Add the remaining ½cup vin cotto, and bring to a boil.
- In a small bowl, combine the vinegar and sugar. Add to the pan and cook, stirring, until the liquid has reduced to a glaze. Season to taste, with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Transfer the chicken to a warmed platter and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with chili flakes and parsley, and serve.
This dish was a hit for Sunday supper last night. The red wine sauce really complimented the flavor of the chicken. It’ll be a repeat recipe for us, for sure!
I am always on the hunt for great chicken recipes. This sounds perfect for date night. Love the red wine reduction, makes it so elegant.
What a complex combination of flavors.I have to try this chicken ASAP. Probably Friday! I’m super curious. Thanks for the recipe and the inspiration!
Came here to say this chicken tastes as good as it looks. The sauce is fabulous and I can’t wait to make it again. PS it’s already been requested for dinner this weekend.
My guests were very impressed with my cooking skills when I served this delicious recipe. I especially loved the addition of olives, capers and nuts. Great flavors and textures!
What a treat! I had never made a red wine reduction. Thank you for the great instructions.
You got me at wine! What a fabulous recipe. We loved all the intricate flavors, and amazing how well they all come together. The capers and olives bring out the flavor beautifully.
A great hit at our house, thank you.
This recipe turned out amazing! The chicken was tender and all of the vegetables gave it such great flavor!
This is a great chicken recipe out there, the saltiness, sweetness coming from the wine, and the flavor of the chicken are coming together inside the pot. I hope to make this for tomorrow, thank you!
One of my favorite recipes! Do you know the Greek foodie? 😊
I do! Kisses J
I love this Red Wine Reduction Chicken, and I’m craving this, I’ll try this at home hoping to share more lovely recipes!!!!
The chicken is succulent and savory and it really goes well with rice, bread, or potatoes
I love the red wine reduction sauce. It has all different flavors in one bite and I am a big fan of olives and caper.