winter

Confit Chicken with 20 Garlic Cloves, Rosemary & Thyme

December 13

A real winter winner is a rather humble confit chicken dish that is so much more than the sum of its parts. Many food writers have put their stamp on chicken roasted with cloves of garlic, Nigella uses 40, Delia uses 30, but in this confit baked version of the dish I’ve gone a slightly less excessive route and settled on an easy 20. Chicken legs are coddled in a low oven with olive oil infused with aromatics like sage, fennel seeds and lemon zest alongside baby potatoes. It leaves you with fairly irresistible chicken and a stellar oil that is ideal to use on roast potatoes or frying off vegetable fritters in a pan.

Serves 8
2h 30mins

Method

1. Place the chicken legs in a large ovenproof dish, sprinkle over the fennel seeds, herbs, lemon zest, garlic cloves and a generous seasoning of salt and pepper. Massage the aromatics into the legs and place them covered in the fridge overnight.
2. Remove the chicken from the fridge when ready to cook and preheat the oven to 150˚C/300˚F.
3. Place all the legs skin side up in the dish and nestle in the potatoes and onions around them. Pour over the olive oil and gently nudge the chicken legs to ensure everything is coated.
4. Place this dish in the oven and cook for 2 hours or until the chicken meat is almost falling off the bone. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before transferring the chicken and potatoes to a shallow sided roasting tray.
5. Once the oil is cooled completely strain into a resealable jar and keep in the fridge for other uses. Save a little of the oil alongside the lemon zest, herbs, onions and garlic cloves and keep warm in a small saucepan to garnish the finished chicken.
6. Place the chicken and potatoes into the oven on a high grill setting and allow to crisp and turn golden for approximately 10 minutes.
7. Serve the chicken and potatoes on a large platter garnished with a little of the oil, garlic, lemon zest, onions and herbs. Serve to the table with a bowl of freshly dressed winter leaves.

8 chicken legs

1 tbsp fennel seeds, roughly bashed in a pestle & mortar

6 sprigs rosemary

6 sprigs of thyme

1 lemon, zest peeled

20 garlic cloves (roughly two bulbs)

1.6lbs baby potatoes

6 small onions, peeled and quartered

1 litre extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

To serve:

Endive and winter salad leaves

Sharp french mustard dressing