I came across this recipe at FoodStories blog. I really enjoyed the process. Here is the recipe:
40 cloves of garlic chicken
Serves: 6
Prep: 25 min
Cook: 90 min plus 10 min resting
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| just a few cloves of garlic |
Ingredients
1.8kg organic, free-range chicken
Maldon sea salt flakes
Freshly ground black pepper
6 sprigs rosemary
6 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
1 lemon – I add 1 lemon cut in half
4 garlic bulbs/40 large cloves
250ml good olive oil-
(yes, 250ml! well worth it! keep reading on…all will be revealed)
You will also need a large sheet of kitchen foil
Method
Heat the oven to 220C/gas mark 6. Un-truss the chicken. Often there are big lumps of fat just inside the cavity entrance, one on either side. Discard. Lavishly season inside the cavity with salt and pepper. Place 2 sprigs rosemary and thyme inside the cavity with 2 strips of lemon zest or in this case I placed 2 halves of a lemon. Place the chicken, breast side uppermost, in a large, lidded casserole dish that holds the chicken snugly. At this stage I put the chicken the the oven to brown the skin.
In the meanwhile, separate the garlic cloves; there is an average 10 cloves per bulb, sometimes more. Flake away the excessive papery skin but do not peel the cloves. Take the chicken out of the oven when brown and scatter the cloves around the chicken. Pour the olive oil over the chicken so it trickles down to cover the garlic more or less. Tuck the remaining rosemary and thyme, and bay leaves, over and around bird and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Place a double fold of foil over the dish with a generous overhang. Position the lid and use the foil overhang to seal thoroughly.
Place the dish in the middle of the oven. Turn the temperature down to 180C/gas mark 4. Cook for about 90 minutes. The chicken should be tender, failing off the bone and it will be juicy and moist. Remove from the oven. Rest for at least 10 minutes – it will keep without harming for 30 minutes – before transferring to a warmed platter. Spoon the olive oil and garlic over the top, so they tumble down the bird. Serve with a share of the garlic and olive oil with boiled potatoes and a green vegetable such as chard on the side. I love mash so next time I will be making garlic (from the cooked chicken) mash to serve as side dish.
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| voila! dinner is ready |
Now for the leftover… Chicken sandwich with homemade garlic mayo using the garlic oil from the cooked chicken above.
For the Homemade Mayo… I followed Helen’s recipe, but as always I changed the order of seasoning a little bit.
Put two large egg yolks in a clean bowl and whisk them together. Add dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon of lemon blend well. Begin adding the oil a few drops at a time, whisking as you do so and making sure each bit of oil is fully incorporated before adding the next. As you whisk more oil in and the mayo starts to thicken, you can start adding the oil in slightly larger quantities until you are steadily adding it in a thin stream. The key with mayo is to be cautious with the oil until you get a feel for making it. If you add too much at once, it will split. If this happens, don’t despair. Take a fresh egg yolk in a clean bowl and begin adding the split mixture into it, very slowly, just as if it were the oil. This should bring it back.
Stop when the mayo reaches the desired thickness. Season to taste. Enjoy!!!
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| the sandwich |
You should experiment with vinaigrette's, pesto, barbecue sauces, and salsas. You'll also find that some dips make excellent sandwich spreads.