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Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic

You will find that the garlic has been tamed in the cooking and acquired a delicious buttery quality. Serve with hot toast or thin slices of pumpernickel—to be spread with the garlic sauce.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

8

chicken leg quarters

2

/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

4

celery ribs, thinly sliced

6

sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley

1

tablespoon finely chopped fresh tarragon or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried tarragon

1

/2 cup dry vermouth

2

1/2 teaspoons salt

1

/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

40

garlic cloves, crushed under a knife and peeled

Need to make a substitution?

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Wash the chicken legs and thighs and thoroughly dry with paper towels. Put the oil in a shallow dish or a plate and turn the chicken in the oil to coat on all sides. Reserve the unused oil. Lay the sliced celery in the bottom of a heavy casserole or Dutch oven (not uncoated cast iron) with a tight-fitting lid. Add the parsley and tarragon, then lay the chicken pieces on top. Pour the vermouth over the chicken, and add 1 teaspoon salt, the pepper, and the nutmeg.

    Step 2

    Pour the reserved oil into the casserole, then toss in all the garlic and sprinkle with the remaining salt. Put a piece of aluminum foil over the casserole and then cover to make a tight seal; or make a thick, heavy flour and water paste to seal the lid, and cover the lid and paste with another layer of foil. Bake in a preheated 375°F oven for 1 1/2 hours without removing the lid. To serve remove the foil (or break and remove the flour paste seal) and serve hot, from the pot.

From The Essential James Beard Cookbook: 450 Recipes That Shaped the Tradition of American Cooking by James Beard. Copyright © 2012 by Reed College and John Ferrone. Published by St. Martin's Press.