chicken with forty cloves of garlic

Many of you know my love for reading cookbooks and even occasionally trying a recipe from them:) My MIL got me Julia Child's cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, for Christmas which I have been reading and we recently had some delicious food at friend's house from a new recipe book of hers that is french. Now I am more than intrigued. My friend has let me borrow a couple of her cookbooks. The first recipe I tried out is chicken with forty cloves of garlic.



Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic

2 celery stalks, including leaves
2 springs of rosemary
4 sprigs of thyme
4 sprigs of flat leaf parsley
1 3 1/2 lb. whole chicken
40 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
1 carrot, roughly chopped
2 T. olive oil
1 small onion
1 cup white wine
1 baguette, cut into slices

Preheat the oven to 400. Put a chopped celery stalk and 2 sprigs each of rosemary, thyme and parsley into the chicken cavity. Add 6 cloves of garlic. Tie the legs together and tuck the wing tips under.

Brush the chicken with olive oil and season with salt and pepper well. Scatter 10 more garlic cloves over the base of a large covered casserole or roasting pan. (Use a dish into which the chicken and vegetables fit quite snugly so that the flavors mingle well.) Put the remaining sprigs of herbs, chopped celery, carrot and onion into the baking dish.Put the chicken into the dish. Scatter the remaining garlic cloves around the chicken and add any remaining olive oil and the wine.

Cover and bake for 1 hour 20 minutes or until the chicken is tender an the juices run clear when the thigh is pierced with a skewer.

To serve, carefully lift the chicken out of the dish. Strain off the juices into a small saucepan. Use tongs to pick out the garlic cloves from the strained mixture. Spoon off fat from the juices and boil for 2-3 minutes to reduce and thicken a little.

Cut the chicken into serving portions on a platter, pour over a little of the juices and scatter the garlic cloves. Toast the baguette slices and serve the bread to be spread with the soft flesh squeezed from the garlic.

Here is my chicken before I put it in the oven. I could not find my cotton string anywhere so I just left the legs flop. Tying the legs keeps them close to the body of the chicken and they won't cook as fast. Be sure to use cotton string and not nylon, as nylon will melt in the oven.



And after it was finished baking.



My family really liked this and since I can't eat chicken, you will have to take their word:) My friend told me to use my enameled cast iron dish like a Le Crueset and it was perfect for this. She also suggested using a farm fresh or chicken from a butcher to make it even better. I also omitted the celery as Steve really does not like the flavor of it. If you don't do wine in your cooking, I am sure you could substitute some apple juice or stock. It took about 3 1/2 heads of garlic. I made a little separate roasted garlic for me in a tinfoil packet. Cut off the top of the head of garlic and drizzle a little olive oil, a dash a wine and some salt and pepper. I sealed it up and baked in the oven while the chicken was baking. I thought the roasted garlic on the bread was just delish!!