Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

📝 Ingredients

• 4 whole chicken legs (about 280 g each, skin on and bone in)
• 40 garlic cloves (about 4 bulbs)
• 800 g waxy potatoes
• 2 tbsp olive oil (1 for the chicken, 1 for the potatoes)
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme + 2 bay leaves
• 1 chicken stock cube + 200 ml hot water
• 10 g fresh parsley
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Cast-iron casserole dish with lid
• Baking tray + baking paper
• Mixing bowl
• Kitchen tongs
• Clean tea towel

📖 Steps

1. Place one shelf at the bottom of the oven and one at the top, then preheat to 180 °C. Remove the skin from the chicken legs by pulling it firmly, using kitchen paper for a better grip. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Dissolve the stock cube in the hot water.
2. Separate the garlic cloves from the bulbs without peeling them: keeping them in their skins stops them from burning and lets them confit inside. Remove only the outer papery skins that come away on their own.
3. Heat 1 tbsp oil in the casserole dish over a medium-high heat and brown the chicken legs for 4 min on each side, turning them with tongs, until well coloured. Set aside, then fry the garlic cloves for 3 min over a medium heat, stirring.
4. Put the chicken legs back on top of the garlic, add the thyme and bay leaves, pour in the stock and bring to a simmer. Cover tightly and place on the bottom shelf of the oven for 1 h 10, without opening: the trapped steam confits the garlic and tenderises the meat.
5. 20 min after the casserole dish goes into the oven, wash the potatoes without peeling them, cut into 3 cm wedges and dry them in the tea towel. Toss them in the bowl with 1 tbsp oil and some salt, then spread them out in a single layer on the baking tray.
6. Put the tray on the top shelf for 50 min, turning the potatoes halfway through, until golden and crispy outside and soft inside.
7. Check it's done: the chicken meat comes away easily from the bone and the garlic squashes effortlessly under a fork. If the juices seem too thin, remove the chicken legs and reduce the juices for 3 min over a high heat, uncovered.
8. Remove the thyme and bay leaves. Serve the chicken legs with the potatoes, a few garlic cloves, the juices and the chopped parsley. At the table, press each clove with a fork to squeeze out the soft confit garlic and spread it over the potatoes.