Forty...

There seems to be some sort of magic around the number forty.  There were the forty days and forty nights of the Great Flood. And Ali Baba and the forty thieves. American Top Forty. Forty acres and a mule. The Darb el-Arbein: the forty days road across Sudan from Darfur to Lower Egypt.

Forty is the only integer whose name in English has its letters in alphabetical order. It is the number of hours in a western workweek. Forty is the highest number ever counted to on Sesame Street. It is the number of winks that make up a proper nap. It is when life is said to begin.

It is also the number of cloves of garlic in this recipe. Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic. It’s a classic French recipe around which there are stories and legends and even a little controversy. I think every prominent cook, cookbook, cooking website, and blog has a version of this recipe. And so do we. I’ve adapted this recipe from Marian Burros’s adaptation of Jane and Michael Stern’s, and stolen a bit from James Beard, too.

In case you're wondering what forty cloves of garlic looks like....

Here’s what you need:

Eight pieces of chicken (I used thighs but thighs and legs seem to be the standard)

Six parsley sprigs

Four celery ribs, cut in half and then sliced into long ribs

Two medium onions chopped

½ cup olive oil

½ cup of dry vermouth

2  ½  teaspoons salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

forty cloves of garlic, unpeeled

dash of nutmeg

a baguette

Garlic bulbs and parsley sprigs direct from MS. F's garden. 

Heat your oven to 375.

Place the celery, onions, and parsley sprigs in the bottom of a large, heavy casserole. Coat the chicken in olive oil (Burros, Beard, and the Sterns all say to use more oil than this (2/3 cup), and to place it in a bowl then dip the chicken in it. But I think this is plenty.) then place the pieces in the casserole atop the vegetables. Pour the vermouth over all of this, then add the salt and pepper. Now stuff the forty cloves of garlic all around the chicken. You’ll probably have to lift the chicken pieces and drop some of the garlic under some of them. Sprinkle the dash of nutmeg over the chicken pieces. Now put aluminum foil over the casserole, then place the lid on top of that.

Ready to go into the oven

Put this into the over, shut the door, and go away for ninety minutes. You could be making a green vegetable or salad, and you should be slicing bread. A good crusty baguette is an absolute necessity. Don't be nosy, let the food cook in the pot without opening it for ninety minutes. 

After those ninety minutes have passed, you can serve. Be sure to give each of your guests numerous pieces of the garlic. Once it has cooled a bit, they can use their fingers to squeeze the garlic out of its skins and onto the bread—it the bread is slightly toasted, so much the better.

Just out of the oven. 

We served this with some haricots verts prepared with shallots and slivered almonds. It went very well with a Pinot Noir. If you have leftovers, you could also put this over some rice quite easily. You might cook the rice with some celery and onion and a bit of chicken stock replacing some of the water to add flavor