Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic is a delicious dish that is a favorite of many people, but the traditional way of making this recipe is fairly time consuming and laborious. The beauty of cooking food in a Crock Pot is that you can prepare all of the ingredients in the morning, and come home to a fully cooked meal that is ready to serve. Crock Pot meals are perfect for cold winter days, or long work days, when you don’t want to cook when you return from work.
To individually peel 40 cloves of garlic is a fairly time consuming task. It can be made easier by separating the cloves from the head and dropping them into boiling water for 30 seconds, then draining the cloves and allowing them to cool enough to be able to handle them. After the cloves have cooled, the peels will just slip off the garlic cloves with your fingers.
Ingredients:
- 1 3lb. frying chicken, cut into serving pieces
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/8 cup dry vermouth
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 40 cloves garlic (roughly 2 heads), whole and peeled
- 4 pieces of celery, chopped
- the zest and juice of 1 lemon
Directions:
1. Remove the skin from the chicken.
2. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Put the chicken in the skillet, and cook for approximately 10 minutes or until it is browned on all sides (but not cooked through). Take the chicken out and set on a plate.
4. In a large bowl, combine the wine, vermouth, fresh herbs, and red pepper flakes.
5. Add the celery and garlic cloves to the wine mixture, stir to coat the vegetables with the sauce. Transfer the garlic and celery to a Crock Pot with a slotted spoon.
6. Add the chicken to the wine and herb mixture; coat well. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables in the Crock Pot. Sprinkle the chicken with the lemon zest and juice; pour in the remaining wine and herb mixture.
7. Cover and cook on low temperature for 6 to 10 hours or until the chicken is no longer pink in the center. Garnish with fresh parsley, if desired.
Serves 4 to 6
