According to legend, the first coq au vin was cooked in 52 BC, when Julius Caesar sought to impress Vercingetorix before the Battle of Gergovia.

A story told by Olivier Poels in "Historically yours". 

It is a comforting dish, which is part of the heritage of French cuisine.

But did you know that the recipe for coq au vin dates back to ... antiquity?

In any case, this is what a legend told by Olivier Poels in

Historically yours

, on Europe 1. The dish would have been created by the cook of Julius Caesar himself. 

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A rooster symbolizing fury and courage

The story takes place in the year 52 BC, during the siege of Gergovia.

In what hours, Caesar is preparing to face Vercingetorix and the atmosphere is tense on either side of the lines.

The Gallic chief then sends to that of the Romans a rooster, symbol of the fury, courage and combativeness of the French forces.

As a "gentleman", the day before the battle, Julius Caesar invites Vercingetorix to eat….

and serves him his rooster, prepared in wine.

This is where the famous met would have been born - however associated, in this case, with a defeat: Julius Caesar and his troops bowed to Gergovia. 

An animal whose flesh is too firm to be cooked? 

Then, this ancient recipe seems to disappear: in the cookbooks of the 18th and 19th century, there is hardly any trace of it, probably because the rooster is deemed too firm and too hard to be eaten ... And because the rooster, which is used for reproduction, is the last farmyard animal that is cooked on the farm!

So we eat chickens instead.

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The dish resurfaced in the 20th century, in Burgundy, land of wine.

The rooster is then tender: cooked for a short time, it is almost inedible.

You must therefore first boil the animal, then marinate and cook it ...

A lighter version with white wine

Today, it is no longer roosters that are used to make this preparation, but more readily hens, chickens or hens, which have a softer flesh.

Europe 1 offers you the recipe for a "light" and Alsatian version of the dish, in white wine, with more marked acidity. 

Ingredients  

A beautiful poultry

Small baby onions

Bacon

Carrots

Fresh mushrooms, sliced

A bottle of Riesling white wine

A small drop of cognac

A spoon of flour 

A little fresh cream

The steps of the recipe

1 -

Brown your pieces of poultry in fat

2 -

Singer them by coating them with flour, to thicken the sauce

3 -

Brown the baby onions, bacon, carrots and mushrooms

4 -

Add the cognac

5 -

Pour in the Riesling, cover and cook quietly for 40-45 minutes, until the poultry is very soft

6 -

Bind with a little bit of cream