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Chicken Braised with 20 Cloves of Garlic

Source of Recipe

Celebrity Dish, September 2000, p. 18 (slightly adjusted by me)


Recipe Introduction

This is fabulous! It would be good to serve to company. Don't let the amount of garlic scare you off. The flavor of garlic cloves really mellow when cooked. Serve with basmati rice and steamed broccoli/cauliflower/carrots.

List of Ingredients

2 large heads of garlic
1 (3 lb.) chicken -- cut-up
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 T. olive oil
1 small onion -- chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine or water
1 tsp. dried thyme -- crumbled
2/3 cup chicken broth






Recipe

Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. Separate heads of garlic into individual cloves. Add to boiling water and cook 1-1/2 minutes, or until skins peel off easily. Drain and rinse briefly under cold running water. Peel garlic cloves.

Trim any pieces of fat or extra skin from chicken (I would think it would be OK to just remove all the skin, if desired. I did remove the skin from the thighs and they were fine); rinse pieces and pat dry.

Season lightly with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken, skin side down, and saute until skin is nicely browned, 8-10 minutes. Carefully holding lid against pan, pour off all but a thin film of fat.

Turn chicken over and sprinkle onion between pieces. Cover and cook 5 minutes.

Pour in wine and bring to a boil, stirring with a wooden spoon to scrape up any brown bits on bottom or around sides of pan. Boil until wine is reduced to 2 tbsp, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Scatter garlic around chicken, season with thyme and pour broth into pan. Cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer 25 minutes (or a little longer if breasts are large), or until chicken is very tender and cooked through. Remove chicken and half of garlic cloves to a deep platter or serving dish. Cover with foil to keep warm.

Skim fat off sauce in pan. (TIP: To reduce some of the fat in the pan juices, I spooned the garlic and onions out with a slotted spoon and put them in the blender. Then I poured the rest of the juice into a heavy ziploc bag and snipped the corner off and let it drain until it got to the fat and pulled it away.) Pour sauce, onions, and garlic into a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. If sauce is too liquid, pour into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Dissolve 1 tsp. cornstarch in 1 tbsp of cold water and stir into sauce. Cook, stirring 1 minute, until slightly thickened.

Taste sauce and re-season with additional salt and pepper, if needed. Pour over chicken or serve on the side and serve.

Source:
"posted by Risa G at Mimi's"