Winter Skies, Kitchen Aglow

  One of the most warming aromas from the kitchen is the is the combination of garlic and rosemary - bolstering and soothing. My angelheart Eric could not survive without garlic, and, over the years, I find that I have often come to say "this needs more garlic". After a visit to the farmers' market on Friday, arms laden with garlic, we set about making a garlic-lovers' classic: 40-Clove Garlic Chicken, which is an opus in terms of the use of garlic: roasted, in a marinade, in a sauce...you really do use about 40 cloves of garlic...Heaven!

This dish requires a little preparation because timing is everything. You want the chicken, sauce, and roasted garlic all nice and hot. Each step, however, is really simple and the payoff is undeniable.

40-Clove Garlic Chicken
(from Andrea Froncillo and Jennifer Jeffrey's The Stinking Rose Restaurant Cookbook)

1 large chicken spearated into breast and leg pieces, approximately 2.5 pounds (you could, of course, just as easily just buy your favourite chicken pieces)
1 1/2 cups roasted garlic

For the marinade, combine together in a small bowl:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
Leaves from 1 sprig rosemary, minced
salt and pepper

For the sauce:
1 cup dry red wine
1 shallot, quartered
4 cloves garlic, chopped
leaves from 1 sprig rosemary, minced
leaves from 2 sprigs thyme, minced
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into chunks
salt and pepper

To make the roasted garlic:
1) Preheat oven to 250 deg. f.
2) Combine 2 cups of garlic and 1 cup of olive oil in a heavy saucepan over low heat for 40 minutes, stirring once halfway through.
3) Transfer the garlic to a baking sheet and bake until golden brown and a bit wrinkly, approximately 20-30 minutes.

To make the marinade:
1) Combine ingredients in a bowl.

To bake the chicken:
1) Put chicken pieces into a resealable bag, pour the marinade into the bag and work hands over bag until liquid coats all the pieces. Alternatively, you could put chicken pieces in a bowl, pour the marinade over the pieces and use your hands to coat all of the pieces with the marinade, and then cover bowl with cling film.
2) Put either the resealable bag or cling film-covered bowl into the fridge for 1-3 hours.
3) Preheat oven to 350 deg. f.
4) Put chicken ina heavy baking dish and bake for 20 minutes.
5) Remove baking dish from oven, turn the chicken over and bake for a further 20 minutes, until skin is crackly and golden brown and chicken flesh is done.

To make the sauce:
1) In a heavy saucepan, combine wine, shallot, garlic, rosemeary, and thyme. Bring to a boiul over high heat, then decrease to medium-low and stir occassionally for 2-3 minutes.
2) Gradually stir in the cream and cook to reduce liquid by one-third, approximately 10 minutes.
3) Add butter in batches, stirring to melt.
4) Season with salt and pepper.
5) Pauce sauce through a fine-meshed sieve, cover, and set aside until chicken has come out of the oven.

To assemble:
1) Arrange the baked chicken pieces on a serving dish.
2) Pour the warm sauce over the chicken.
3) Sprinkle with roasted garlic cloves.

All the best for 2007!

Labels: Chicken