Nick Stellino has been one of my favorite Chefs for many years. Nick and Vicky Saman, friends we made while living in London, introduced us to his cookbooks and style of cooking in the mid-1980’s. Suzanne gave me one of his cookbooks in the late-1990’s. “Mediterranean Flavors” has been one of my favorites ever since. I remember the first time I made one of the recipes. We were living in Havre de Grace, MD. We had purchased a town house that was built on a point of land that stuck straight out into the Susquehanna River. It was a beautiful location. We were the top two floors of a four story townhouse. From our dining room and living room balcony you could drop a fishing line right down into the river. The wild life was incredible to see. Being on the northern end of the Chesapeake Bay, the area was home to Osprey and Bald Eagles in numbers we had never seen anywhere else. Our kitchen, living room and dining room was a large, open floor plan, allowing us to be in the kitchen and have an incredible view, straight up the river.
Moving to Havre de Grace also moved us closer to getting back to one of our passions, sailing. But that is another story.
The recipe I’m sharing with you originally comes from Nick Stellino’s cookbook, “Mediterranean Flavors“. He calls this recipe Chicken with Garlic Sauce. I’ve added my own twist to this, but the original recipe needs no improvement. When you take the first bite be ready for such an intense combination of flavors it may blow your mind! Suzanne and I had this a week ago. When I finished the last bite, I put my fork and knife down and said, “It’s a good thing there’s nothing left on my plate. I am stuffed, but I couldn’t stop eating this.” Momma Mia, what an incredible mix of flavors and textures. There’s a crunchiness to the chicken skin, a moist tenderness in the chicken meat, a buttery smooth texture to the sauce and a creaminess to the garlic that you won’t believe, and NO bite in the garlic!
Prep Time: 20 min. – Cook Time: 25 – 30 min.
Ingredients
This is one of those dishes where doing all the prep up front really helps. Start by getting everything you’ll need together.
1 – Large glass of wine for the Chef!
2 – 3T – Flour
1 1/2t – Sage, finely chopped
1 1/2t – Rosemary, finely chopped
3/4t – Salt, I prefer sea salt, but plain salt will do just fine
1/2t – Black pepper
4 – Boneless chicken thighs, skin on. If you can’t find these at the market, thighs are easy to bone yourself.
3+T – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
20 – Garlic cloves, peeled, do not crush, cut in half, lengthwise (YES! don’t skimp here. You’ll be amazed at how the garlic is transformed as you cook this dish.
1/4t – Red Pepper flakes. You can skip this if you don’t like any heat at all, but this won’t add very much. It does add another dimension to the flavors!
1/2 – White onion, chopped
1/4C – White wine, dry
1 1/4C – Chicken Stock, try Chicken Bone broth too!
1T – Butter, softened, mixed with 1T Flour. This makes a wonderful beurre manié (kneaded butter). The general rule is this mixture for each cup of liquid you want to thicken. You can make this ahead of time and store it in the fridge, or even freeze the cubes for later use, any time you need a thickener for soups, sauces, etc.
3T – Italian parsley, chopped, fresh
Making The Magic
Once the chicken is in the oven, you’ll have time to make your Garlic Sauce, but be sure you have all the ingredients prepped. For me, having them ready to go means I can focus on the music of the cooking. Bringing the ingredients together at the right time and in the right way to create the flavors that will make your tastebuds sing.
First, did you pour yourself a glass of wine? Take a sip and begin.
Preheat your oven to 325°.
Combine and thoroughly mix the black pepper, sea salt, rosemary, sage and flour. Spread your mixture on a plate. Heat some extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet/pan, medium high. Dredge your chicken in the herbal, flour mixture. Drop the chicken into the pan of hot olive oil, skin side down. Reduce the heat slightly. Cook the chicken for about 4 minutes on each side. Wait…take a moment and smell the incredible aromas coming up from your pan! The mixture of the sage, rosemary, salt and pepper, transforms itself as it blooms in the hot olive oil. Enjoy it! When finished, transfer the chicken to a foil lined baking dish and pop in the oven for about 15 minutes.
Take another sip of wine and begin making your sauce while the chicken is in the oven.
Add some extra virgin olive oil to the drippings in your pan. Bring the heat back up to medium high. As the oil begins to sizzle, add the onions, garlic and red pepper flakes. Reduce the heat to medium. Gently stir, mix and blend the ingredients in the oil for 3 to 4 minutes, just long enough for the onions to begin softening. The garlic will start to brown slightly. You want to be sure not to cook this too quickly. If the garlic starts to darken quickly, remove it from the heat and let the temperature drop. Overheating the garlic will turn it bitter. Cooking it slowly will turn it creamy and sweet. Once you taste the result of this you won’t believe you’re eating garlic. After 3 to 4 minutes, slowly stir in the wine. Scrape the bottom of your pan to loosen the bits and drippings from the chicken. This adds a whole new dimension to the flavors. Now bring the heat up and let the wine boil for several minutes. The goal is to reduce the liquid by half. Once reduced, add the chicken stock, bring back to a boil and let the liquid reduce by half, again. This can take anywhere from 7 to 10 minutes. Once reduced, remove the pan from the heat and add your flour/butter mixture, the beurre manié. Stir this into the sauce until it has melted completely, then return the pan to the heat. Stir for a minute or so, allowing the sauce to thicken. Reduce the heat to low, just to keep the sauce warm.
Take another sip of wine and refill the glass! It’s time to plate the dish and enjoy!
We love serving this with rice and for this meal I also did a fresh, butter and cream spinach.
Plate the rice, lay your beautiful chicken thighs on the plate, along side the spinach.
Now, spoon the most amazing garlic sauce you’ll ever have over the chicken and the rice.
Momma Mia! I can still taste the flavors as I write about this.
Thank you Nick Stellino for sharing this incredible recipe with us! I’m so going to enjoy this! Like I said, it’s a good thing I ran out of food on my plate, because I just couldn’t stop eating this!
Variations To Keep it New
Like I said before, I don’t think this can be improved, but a little variation might be fun.
Nick uses boneless chicken breasts with the skin on. Just be careful not to overcook the chicken breasts. They can get tough and dried out if you overcook them. You may need to debone them yourself. I’ve never found boneless chicken breasts with the skin on at the market.
This may sound a little strange, but adding some raisins to the sauce, for the last minute or so of the cooking, will give a contrast to the savory blends already in the sauce.
You might want to try serving this with Ginger Glazed carrots and Angel Hair pasta.
Wines We Love With This
Sauvignon Blanc
Cabernet Franc – a Nick Stellino recommendation
Frescati
Leftovers
If you do have any leftovers, reheating in a microwave works great. I have saved some of the rice that goes with this and reheating in the microwave at power level 8, doesn’t overcook the chicken or rice.
Make your taste buds dance and sing with the music and love from your kitchen!
Question
Do you have any favorite garlic recipes?
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