Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic
Source of Recipe
Barefoot Contessa in Paris
Recipe Introduction
This was very good! I only prepared one chicken, so I cut the ingredients in half...and had to make adjustments as noted. Served this with smashed potatoes and fried green tomatoes! Yummo!
List of Ingredients
3 whole heads garlic, about 40 cloves
2 (3 1/2-pound) chickens, cut into eighths
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons good olive oil
3 tablespoons Cognac, divided (I didn't have cognac, so I used cooking sherry instead)
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons heavy cream
Recipe
Separate the cloves of garlic and drop them into a pot of boiling water for 60 seconds. Drain the garlic and peel. Set aside. (I didn't do this, I seperated the cloves, and used the flat blade of a large butcher knife to slightly "smash" the cloves, which makes them easy to peel)
Dry the chicken with paper towels. Season liberally with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat the butter and oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. In batches, saute the chicken in the fat, skin side down first, until nicely browned, about 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Turn with tongs or a spatula; you don't want to pierce the skin with a fork. If the fat is burning, turn the heat down to medium. When a batch is done, transfer it to a plate and continue to saute all the chicken in batches. Remove the last chicken to the plate and add all of the garlic to the pot. Lower the heat and saute for 5 to 10 minutes, turning often, until evenly browned.(I did not chop my garlic, but left it whole w/ some slightly smashed from peeling) Add 2 tablespoons of the Cognac and the wine, return to a boil, and scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Return the chicken to the pot with the juices and sprinkle with the thyme leaves. Cover and simmer over the lowest heat for about 30 minutes, until all the chicken is done.
Remove the chicken to a platter and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup of the sauce and the flour and then whisk it back into the sauce in the pot. (I just sprinkled and whisked my flour in the pan) Raise the heat, add the remaining tablespoon of Cognac and the cream, and boil for 3 minutes (at this point, the mixture was too thick, so I thinned with water until it made a gravy consistency). Add salt and pepper, to taste; it should be very flavorful because chicken tends to be bland. Pour the sauce and the garlic over the chicken and serve hot. (I left the sauce in the skillet, and added my chicken back into it...turning the chicken to coat in the sauce and covered while I smashed my potatoes...I then served the gravy/sauce over the potatoes).
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