As I write this it’s early April and Spring weather has not come to Wales yet! Since it is, effectively, still winter in Wales, I thought I would bring some Spring to my cooking! I thought back to my days as a student in France. My roommate, Sophie, was from Provence and I was often invited home with her for the weekend where her mother, Mrs. L. would cook some amazing meals.

One of the most simple but wonderful meals she showed me how to cook is a Provencal dish, Roast Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic. Do not be afraid of the large quantity of garlic. Slow cooking mellows the garlic so that it becomes a creamy and buttery puree that enhances the flavour of the chicken.

Roast Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

1 hour 30 mins

Total time

1 hour 45 mins

 

Cooking equipment needed: Ovenproof pot large enough to hold the chicken with a tight fitting lid.

Author: Mrs. L.

Recipe type: Dinner

Cuisine: French

Ingredients

• 1 large chicken
• ¼ to ½ cup of olive oil
• 40 cloves of garlic
• 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 1 tablespoon of Pommery Meaux Mustard (If you can not find this brand of mustard, look for a medium strength whole grain mustard)
• Salt
• Pepper
• For serving: toasted slices of country bread

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 190c
2. Rub the inside of the chicken with the 1 tablespoon of mustard.
   
   
3. Then sprinkle the inside of the chicken with salt and pepper.
4. Stuff the chicken with the fresh herbs and 6 of the garlic cloves.
   
   
5. Place the chicken in a pot that is just big enough to hold it
   
   
6. Pour some of the olive oil over the chicken ensuring that the chicken is nicely coated with the oil.
7. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the chicken
   
   
8. Strew the remain cloves of garlic around the chicken and drizzle the remaining olive oil over the garlic.
   
   
9. Cover tightly and bake in the oven for about 1/1/2 hours until golden brown and cooked through.
   
   
10. Allow the chicken to rest for about 20 minutes before carving.
    

Notes

To serve: Carve the chicken and put on a platter surrounded by the cloves of garlic. Put the cooking juices in a sauceboat. Serve the chicken with crusty bread. Mash the garlic lightly to remove it from its skin and then spread on the bread or on the chicken.

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This blog post has been sponsored by Thomson Al Fresco UK. If you are looking for an affordable vacation. Thomson Al Fresco has self catering mobile homes and family camping holidays in France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Croatia.

This dish would be a wonderful and easy dish whilst enjoying your Thomson Al Fresco self-catering holiday in France!

Thomson Al Fresco generously gave to me a wonderful French Hamper from French Flavour Limited. French Flavour carries a wide selection of French products.  The Pommery Moutarde de Meaux was in the hamper.

Contact details:-
Thomson Al Fresco
www.thomsonalfresco.co.uk
Tel: 0843 636 2644

French Flavour Ltd
Unit F16
Bersham Enterprise Centre
Colliery Road
Rhostyllen
Wrexham
LL14 4EG
www.frenchflavour.co.uk
Tel: 01978 356835