Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

So this is another of the recipes I made over a year ago for a French final.  Poulet avec quarant gous d'ail.  Now I know my grandmother and my French teacher are going to cringe at my attempts at French spelling, alas, c'est la vie!

This is entirely from memory of a dish I made only once over a year ago.  I'm not sure why I haven't repeated it, it was amazing!  I have received a request for it however, and wanted to post it.  Maybe I'll make it sometime this week... hmm.

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

Ingredients

• Whole Chicken quartered and separated into pieces - many grocery stores sell them this way
• 4 heads of garlic
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 bouquet garni - this is a bunch of herbs tied together with cooking twine, don't worry if you don't have twine, just bunch together: parsley, thyme, and bay leaves.  You can also add sage and rosemary if you want to play with the taste
• celery stalks
• salt
• pepper
• pastry crust- either buy a pre-made crust from the store or make a basic one with flour, oil, salt and water.  It does not have to be perfect!  The crust is used as a cooking tool, not as part of the meal.  It can also be forgotten if you are cooking in a Dutch over or some stoneware with a lid to seal in the juices.

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a casserole dish or Dutch oven arrange bouquet garni in the center with the celery stalks.
3. Toss chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, arrange around the garni.
4. Remove the loose hulls from the garlic and separate the cloves.  They do NOT need to be peeled as they will roast in their shells and can then be spread on fresh bread as a side for the chicken.
5. Tuck the cloves in around the chicken.
6. Cover the casserole with the crust if using, sealing the edges.  Do NOT vent the crust, it is being used to seal in moisture.  If you chose to forego the crust and use a lid, simply place the lid on your dish and place it in the oven.
7. Bake for an hour and a half.
8. Serve warm and break crust at the table.  It will smell amazing!
9. Enjoy!

Serve this with a vegetable side and fresh French Bread to eat with the roast garlic!

I hope you enjoy this dish, it was very popular with my French class.  I did get an A on that final!