Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

Weir shares this classic dish with tour participants to teach them about French comfort food at its simple and satisfying best. One of the basic tenets of French cuisine is making full use of ingredients--hence, whole chickens in this recipe. In a pinch, you can substitute six pounds of chicken pieces. The garlic softens in flavor as it roasts and is easy to spread over the baguette slices. Serve with steamed asparagus.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 4 ounces chicken, 2 tablespoons sauce, 5 garlic cloves, and 3 bread slices)

Ingredients

• 2  (3-pound) whole chickens
• 1  tablespoon  butter
• 1  tablespoon  extravirgin olive oil
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 40  garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 1/4  cups  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1  cup  dry white wine
• 24  (1/4-inch-thick) slices diagonally cut French bread baguette
• Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (optional)

Preparation

Remove and discard giblets and neck from chickens. Rinse chickens with cold water; pat dry. Trim excess fat; remove skin. Cut each chicken into 8 pieces. Combine butter and oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle salt and pepper evenly over chicken. Add half of chicken pieces to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until golden. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining chicken.

Reduce heat to medium. Add garlic; cook 1 minute or until garlic begins to brown, stirring frequently. Arrange chicken on top of garlic. Add broth and wine; cover and cook 25 minutes or until chicken is done.

Remove chicken from pan; keep warm. Increase heat to medium-high; cook 10 minutes or until liquid is reduced to about 1 cup. Serve sauce and garlic with chicken and bread. Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

343 (36% from fat)

Fat:

13.7g (sat 3.6g,mono 4.9g,poly 3.4g)

Protein:

29.6g

Carbohydrate:

24.2g

Fiber:

2g

Cholesterol:

111mg

Iron:

2.3mg

Sodium:

468mg

Calcium:

58mg