40 Clove Garlic Chicken with Potatoes
This is our take on Julia Child's famous "40 garlic chicken". It still has all the richness and flavor but with potatoes added in and the process streamlined to make it a one pot meal fit for a party.
Ingredients
40 cloves of garlic, or about 6 heads
8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs or 1 whole chicken jointed into 8 pieces
2 tbsp flour
1/4 cup cognac or brandy
1 cup dry white wine
1 tbsp herbs de provence or 3 sprigs fresh thyme or rosemary
2 lbs potatoes, any variety, cut into chunks
2 cups stock or water
1/4 cup cream
Method
- Heat oven to 375 F
- Heat a pot of water to a boil and blanch the garlic cloves for 30 seconds then drain and peel leaving the cloves whole
- In a large frying pan or Dutch oven, heat a glug of neutral oil over medium high heat
- Pat the chicken skin dry and season all over liberally with salt
- Sear the chicken skin side down until the skin is golden brown then remove to a plate and continue browning any remaining pieces
- When the chicken is all seared, sprinkle the flour all over the fat still in the pan and allow to soak up the fat and brown to make a flavorful roux
- Add the cognac (be careful it might flame), allow it to reduce, then add the wine and increase the heat to high scrapping up all the brown bits and roux until the wine is reduced by half
- Add the herbs, peeled garlic, and potatoes and stir to coat
- Season liberally with salt and pepper
- Add the stock and then nestle the chicken, skin side up, on top of the potatoes, bring the liquid to a boil and then place in the oven and cook until the chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes or so
- Remove from the oven and lift one piece of chicken off and pour the cream into the liquid underneath
- Replace the piece of chicken, skin side up, and simmer over medium heat until the sauce is reduced
- Serve with a green salad
