Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

1
Points® value
Total Time
1 hr 44 min
Prep
9 min
Cook
1 hr 35 min
Serves
8
Difficulty
Easy
Why 40 garlic cloves and not 35? Who knows where the number came from, but it’s nothing to fear: The long cooking time mellows the garlic to a nutty creaminess.

Ingredients

Olive oil

1 Tbsp, extra-virgin

Uncooked boneless skinless chicken breast

2 pound(s), or skin-on bone-in halves

Table wine

½ cup(s)

Reduced sodium chicken broth

½ cup(s)

Tomato paste

2 Tbsp

Garlic

40 clove(s), unpeeled

Rosemary sprig

1 item(s), or 1/2 teaspoon dried

Fresh thyme

½ tsp, dried, or 1 sprig

Bay leaf

1 leaf/leaves

Table salt

¾ tsp

Black pepper

¼ tsp, freshly ground

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
  2. Heat a large heavy-bottomed casserole or roasting pan large enough to hold the chicken in a single layer over medium heat. Swirl in the oil, then add the chicken breast and thigh pieces, skin-side down. Cook until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes, and transfer the chicken pieces to a plate.
  3. Pour off and discard any fat remaining in the skillet. Stir in the wine, broth, and tomato paste, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat and add the garlic, rosemary, thyme, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Return the chicken to the skillet and toss to coat with the sauce. Cover tightly with foil and bake until the chicken is cooked through and the garlic is softened, 1 1⁄4–1 1⁄2 hours. Remove the skin before eating. Yields 1 chicken piece with 5 garlic cloves and 2–3 tablespoons sauce per serving.

Notes

Serve the unpeeled cloves with the chicken, and let everyone have fun squeezing them out of their jackets onto toasted French bread rounds. Add a salad, and voilà! Dinner is served. For an alcohol-free version of this dish substitute 1/2 cup nonalcoholic dry white wine and a tablespoon of white vinegar for the white wine—or omit the wine, and increase the chicken broth by 1/2 cup.