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The key about this recipe is that the preparation time is so fast and most of all, the smell of the cooking is so mouth wateringly divine...
Ingredients:
2 celery stalks, including leaves
2 sprigs of rosemary
4 sprigs of thyme
4 sprigs of flat-leaf parsley
1 - 1.6kg Chicken
40 garlic cloves unpeeled (seriously)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 Carrot, roughly chopped
1 small Onion, cut into 4 wedges
1 cup of white wine
1 baguette, cut into slices (half baked bread is ideal for this)
Small sprigs of herbs, to garnish
Method:
Preheat oven to 200C / 400F / Gas 6
Put a chopped celery stalk & 2 sprigs each of the rosemary, thyme and parsley into chicken cavity.
Add 6 cloves of garlic.
Brush the chicken liberally with some of the oil and season well.
Scatter about 10 more garlic cloves over the base of a large casserole dish.
Put the remaining sprigs of herbs, chopped celery, carrot and onion into the casserole.
Put the chicken into the dish.
Scatter the remaining oil and wine.
Cover and bake for 1 hour 20 minutes, or until the chicken is tender and juices run clear when pierced.
To serve, carefully lift the chicken out of the casserole dish.
Strain off the juices into a small saucepan.
Use tongs to pick out the garlic cloves from the strained mixture.
Spoon off the fat from the juices and boil for 2-3 minutes to reduce and thicken a little.
Cut the chicken into serving portion, pour over a little of the juices and scatter the garlic.
Toast the baguette slices, then garnish the chicken with herb sprigs and serve with the bread to be spread with the soft flesh squeezed from the garlic.
Colleens notes: Unfortunately due to chaos of everything being ready at once at serving time I just cut and serve when the chicken is ready - and although the chicken is deliciously infused with the garlic - I think that to add the reduction and then to ‘butter’ the garlic onto the bread would be a welcome decadence, especially after the beautiful aromas while cooking. Additionally, I do like to just brown the chicken under the grill it a tiny bit to add a little colour.
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With so much delicious food consumed there was little room for much else (except wine, but that is different).
Dinner Menu
Vegetable antipasti
Chicken & 40 Cloves of Garlic
Colleens Cafe Pumpkin Salad
BBQ Rack of Lamb with mustard crust
Baby herb roasted potatoes
Hot Half Baked Baguette
Various Cheeses
Walnuts
The Wine
EC2 Chardonnay 2006
Chant des Vignes Juracon Sec Domaine Cauhape 2005
Bilancia Syrah 2003
Chateau Musar 1999
Roc de Cambes Cotes de Bourg 2003
Hatton Estate Tahi 1998
"Braidia" Bricco de Uccell'one Barbera d'Asti 2000
Ballet d' Octobre Juracon Dme Cauhape 2005
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