Forty cloves of garlic chicken

Today I shot another exciting show for our new TV series, In my kitchen, and what fun! I had to share some more exciting recipes from the show…this time from our regular Avo columnist (and fab-tastic party cook!), Gwynne Conlyn.

Forty cloves of garlic chicken

(I think we may have only used 20 cloves, but made up for that with an extra helping of white wine!)

- by Sasha

Gwynne says: “I have prepared this dish for years, and always to much lip-smacking acclaim - and it’s easy. If possible, serve with your own easy crunchy bread that you break with your hands and dip into the sauce. And just as good, smear the deliciously sweet garlic from the dish onto the bread before dipping into the sauce ...Alternatively good, fresh French loaves will suffice.”

Serves 4

Time: 2 hours

INGREDIENTS

8 chicken pieces

2 medium onions, peeled and chopped

2 celery spears, chopped (exclude the top leafy part)

250g mixed mushrooms, chopped (add some wild ones for flavour)

About 20 - 40 cloves garlic, peeled

150ml cream

150ml Vermouth

375ml good quality Sauvignon Blanc wine

100ml olive oil

50g butter

Grated nutmeg

20g fresh tarragon (or 10g (heaped tspn) dried)

100g all-purpose flour

Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees celcius.

2. Heat the olive oil in a pan. In the meantime, dust the chicken pieces with seasoned flour and brown in the olive oil.

3. Transfer the chicken to an ovenproof dish, with a lid.

4. Add the butter and fry the onions until light brown.

5. Add the Vermouth and the wine, scraping the lovely brown bits off the bottom with a wooden spatula. Add the nutmeg, as well as a pinch of salt and pepper.

6. Add the celery and the garlic.

7. Layer the chicken on top. Sprinkle the mushrooms over the chicken.

8. Put the lid on the casserole and place in the oven. Bake for 40 minutes, then turn down the oven to 150 degrees celcius. Bake for another 40 minutes.

9. Remove the lid, pour the cream over the dish and bake for another five to ten minutes.

10. If you wish, transfer to a platter and serve. I simply serve straight from the casserole dish: I place it on the dining table, sprinkle the dish with a little more fresh tarragon, and serve.

And don’t forget the crunchy bread!

NOTE: Fresh herbs are always better – and tarragon is easy to grow.

Separate the cloves of garlic and drop them into a pot of boiling water for 60 seconds. They’re much easier to peel this way.

Gwynne says: “One tip about eating garlic is to always hang around other people who eat garlic – that way you don’t have to worry about garlic breath!”