What could be better than the familiar Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic which I love? How about Chicken and Mushrooms with Forty Cloves of Garlic?
I added some fresh mushrooms sautéed till golden brown to this already succulent dish found in Ina Garten’s Barefoot in Paris Cookbook.
Serve it on a nice mound of homemade mashed potatoes and cover it all with a generous ladle of the sauce and this will be an entree you will be making again I promise you.
The garlic sweetens and becomes quite tender as it cooks so don’t be afraid of using so much. I made half of the recipe since I was cooking for two, but that still allowed for leftovers the next day.
This is also a dish which could easily be prepared ahead. Simply refrigerate the finished dish with the sauce and then reheat it on low before serving.
Chicken and Mushrooms with Forty Cloves of Garlic (serves 6)
(adapted from Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic, Barefoot in Paris, Ina Garten)
Ingredients
3 whole heads of garlic, about 40 cloves
1 pound medium to large fresh mushrooms, cleaned and thickly sliced
2 (3 and ½ pound ) chickens, cut into eighths
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided ( 1 T for mushrooms, 1T for chicken)
4 tablespoons good olive oil, divided (2 T for mushroom, 2 T for chicken)
3 tablespoons Cognac, divided
1 and ½ cups dry white wine
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons heavy cream
Separate the cloves of garlic and drop them into a pot of boiling water for 60 seconds. Drain the garlic and peel. Set aside.
Dry the chicken with paper towels. Season liberally with salt and pepper on both sides.
In a large skillet over medium high heat saute the sliced mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter until golden. Turn off the heat and set aside for adding to the sauce later.
Heat the remaining butter and oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
In batches, saute the chicken in the fat, skin side down first, until nicely browned, about 3 to 5 minutes on each side.
Turn with tongs or a spatula; you don’t want to pierce the skin with a fork.
If the fat is burning, turn the heat down to medium.
When a batch is done, transfer it to a plate and continue to saute all the chicken in batches.
Remove the last chicken to the plate and add all the garlic to the pot. Lower the heat and saute for 5 to 10 minutes, turning often, until evenly browned.
Add 2 tablespoons of the Cognac and the wine, return to a boil, and scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
Return the chicken to the pot with the juices and sprinkle with the thyme leaves.
Cover and simmer over the lowest heat for about 30 minutes, until all the chicken is done.
Remove the chicken to a platter and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.
In a small bowl, whisk together ½ cup of the sauce and the flour and then whisk it back into the sauce in the pot.
Raise the heat, add the remaining tablespoon of Cognac and the cream, and boil for 3 minutes.
Add salt and pepper to taste; it should be very flavorful because chicken tends to be bland.
Warm the reserved mushrooms and add to the sauce until heated through.
Pour the sauce and the garlic over the chicken and serve hot.
