Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

This is an old-school recipe that originated in the early ’90s, but there are few tastier dishes for garlic lovers. Some versions are made with chicken pieces or whole birds, but thighs are flavourful and cook evenly. Be sure to have some crusty bread on hand to mop up the sauce and spread the soft garlic cloves onto. Olive or canola oil, for cooking 8 chicken thighs, with skin and bone Coarse salt and freshly ground black

pepper 3– 4 heads good- quality garlic, sepa

rated into cloves and peeled 3– 4 green onions, roughly chopped A few sprigs of fresh thyme 1⁄2 cup (or a big splash) white wine or

chicken stock 1⁄3 cup whipping cream

1. Set a braising pan or shallow Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add a drizzle of oil and brown the chicken thighs all over, sprinkling them with salt and pepper as they cook. Transfer to a plate and add the whole garlic cloves to the oil and chicken drippings in the pan. Add the green onions, thyme (pull the leaves off the stems if you like) and wine or chicken stock and cook for about 5 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen any browned bits.

2. Return the chicken to the pan, placing the thighs on top of the garlic. Cover, turn the heat down to low and cook for 40–45 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a platter and add the cream to the garlic and juices in the pan; cook, stirring almost constantly and squishing some of the soft garlic cloves with the back of a spoon, for 2–3 minutes, or until the mixture bubbles and thickens to the point where your spoon leaves a trail on the bottom of the pan. Serve the chicken topped with the garlicky sauce. Serves 4– 6.