40 Clove Garlic Chicken with Pommes Puree

I first heard about this dish at the Stinking Rose restaurant in LA. I didn't order it there, but I saw it on the menu and I remember thinking "wow, thats a lot of garlic". Then again, they do also serve garlic ice cream.

I found some version of the recipe a few years ago actually and attempted to make it. This was before I completely knew what I was doing. During attempt #1,  I understood the concept of braising but didn't brown the meat enough and I wasn't sure what to do with this whole pot of cooking liquid after I removed the chicken. But now, it became a beautiful reduction sauce with lots of fragrant garlic.

40 cloves!

The elements in this dish happen to be some of my favorite ingredients. They are like the holy trinity of deliciousness: garlic, rosemary, and chicken (& a splash of white wine). All pureed together after reduced enough, makes a velvety smooth and rich sauce.  I made pommes puree [mashed potatoes] as a side dish because chicken + potatoes are one of the best combinations.

I also attempted to practice my plating skills with this one, which I normally don't do. Plating never seemed so important to me until I took my last culinary class & there are just so many creative ways to make food look even better.


40 Clove Garlic Chicken
(adapted from here)
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp oil
- 40 cloves garlic [ about 1 1/2 heads]
- 2 to 3 lbs roasting chicken cut in pieces [ I used only drumsticks & thighs]
- salt
- pepper [ recipe calls for white pepper, but its disgusting so just use black]
- 4 tbsp fresh chopped rosemary
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup white wine
- 4 cups chicken stock

In a dutch oven, melt the butter and heat the oil. Meanwhile, season the chicken with salt, pepper, and rosemary. Season the flour with salt/ pepper and dredge the chicken in, knocking off excess flour after.

Brown the chicken, skin side down first, on both sides for a few minutes. Set aside after browned.

Saute garlic until lighty golden and fragrant. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and bring up all of the suc [brown bits]. Add the chicken stock, and return all of the chicken to the pan.

Cover, and simmer gently for 30 minutes. The chicken will become super soft and fall-off-the-bone.

Set chicken aside and keep warm [ *I like to put mine in a 250 degree oven].

Reduce the liquid in the pot by 2/3rds, this should take a good 20 minutes to do. Puree the sauce, either in a blender or with an immersion blender. Strain if you like.

To plate: Place pommes puree on center of plate, lay two pieces of chicken up against it and carefully pour sauce over.