Uninvited hairy guests

chicken with grapes

Now is the time we start the harvest. The grapes are many and the strength of the sugar in the grapes is perfect. Nick and I are happy because many of the low clusters   have resisted  the wild boar attacks . Yes I know that sounds strange but It is true ,the wild boar are big eaters of grapes. Many of the vineyards around us  are surrounded by an electric wire that produces  small shocks, this is to keep the wild boars from devouring the grapes. We prefer to not use this technique. A farmer friend of ours also advised  us to put a solar-powered radio in the centre of the vineyard, so at night the radio worked and it scared off the wild boar. Frankly the idea of accompanying our sleep with the music of Shakira or any other artist repeatedly thro the night … .. did not appeal to us, so in the end we did nothing about it. Some  wild boar came of course and we have a photo to prove it…..but luckily they were not so greedy.

wildboar sneaking into our vineyard

The harvest weekend starts today, so yesterday to get myself in the right mood I  prepared a new recipe. An experiment that I thought to serve to our guests. Chicken marinated in white wine, wild fennel flower, nutmeg and garlic then gently cooked in the grape juices . We liked it very much, so I hope our guests will also enjoy it after all their hard work…. I cann’t help wondering ,if we had put the radio, would it have worked or would our  little vineyard have become the late night hang out for all the teenage wild boars who want to do nothing more than party??

Serves 4
4 pieces of chicken thigh
For the marinade:
3 cups dry white wine
2 cloves garlic
Grated nutmeg
2 bay leaves
Lemon juice
Salt and pepper
Dried wild fennel flowers
To cook:
evo oil
a knob of butter
½ red onion
3 bunches of white seedless grapes
Dried wild fennel flowers
Salt and pepper

How it work:

Marinate the chicken  pieces in all the given ingredients  and leave in the fridge for 2 hours to rest

Stand a colander in a bowl and crush the grapes so the juices drain into the bowl.

In a pan put olive oil/butter and garlic, cook for few minutes and then add sliced red onion ,leave cooking until onion becomes golden then add the chicken( removed from the marinade).When chicken is golden add the juice from the crushed grapes and a handful of whole seedless grapes and simmer til the chicken is cooked and the grape juice is reduced by half. Season to taste and add a teaspoon of white fennel flowers.