I tried to cook Ina Garten’s Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic and ended up with a fantastic result - but not the one depicted in the picture in her cookbook ‘Barefoot in Paris’. Her pic showed chicken much more browned and crispy than I was able to achieve (twice I tried!) by braising in the wine as she specifies. Nonetheless, she remains one of my heroes and I will continue to tweak this recipe to see if I can achieve the dry browned crispiness depicted.
This is basically a Coq au Vin Blanc with lots of garlic - but no worries. As Ina says, the garlic is braised first to lighten it up and it is soft and sweet - not sharp as it is sautéed fresh.
A delicious dish and thanks to Ina. Here is my version.
6 chicken thighs, trimmed of fat20 cloves garlic, peeled
1 Tbsp fresh lemon thyme leaves, chopped
1/2 cup cream sherry
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp flour
Preheat oven to 375F. Set two cups of water in a small pot to a boil. Toss in the garlic and cook for 60 seconds. Drain and set aside.
Heat a dash of olive oil in an oven-going pot or Dutch Oven. Brown the chicken thighs, about 3-5 minutes on each side until nicely browned.
Add the blanched garlic and the thyme to the pot and brown the garlic just a bit - about 3-5 minutes.
Remove pot from oven when the chicken is done. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon to a plate and cover to keep warm. Remove 1/2 cup of the sauce to a small bowl and cool just a bit.
Bring the sauce in the pot to a very gentle boil. Whisk the flour into the cooled sauce in the small bowl, then whisk into the pot. Bring back to a gentle boil and allow the sauce to thicken a bit.
Serve the chicken with the sauce and garlic. Serve over rice and favorite vegetables, garnished with toasted sesame seeds, if desired.
Serves 4.
