Chicken with garlic, olives and saison ale

Ingredients

• 

  Image from Mercurio’s Menu by Paul Mercurio, published by Murdoch Books

  1 chicken cut into 10 pieces ie cut chicken in half then cut wings from body, remove the leg and thigh separating the two, last cut the breast piece in half keeping it on the bone.

• 4-5 anchovies
• 8 cloves of garlic peeled and left whole
• 12 kalamata olives
• 8 eschallots
• 6 sprigs of thyme
• 4 bay leaves
• 330ml Beechworth Brewers Saison – a spicy farm house Ale
• 250mls Chicken stock
• Flour seasoned with salt, pepper, cumin, lemon pepper and cayenne pepper
• Olive oil

Drench chicken in seasoned flour and dust off excess. Add olive oil to hot pan and put in the garlic cloves and eschallots and cook until slightly coloured then remove from the pan. Add the anchovies and cook until melted then add the chicken pieces and brown. Add the chicken stock then the beer and bring back to a boil now add the olives, thyme, bay leaves, eschallots and garlic. Turn heat to low and cook covered for about an hour.

Recipe and image from Mercurio’s Menu by Paul Mercurio, published by Murdoch Books

When chicken is cooked remove from the pan and keep warm. Return the pan to a high heat and reduce the sauce. Using the back of your wooden spoon, mash the whole cloves of garlic and eschallots so that they mix into the sauce – thickening it. When the sauce is has reduced to a consistency you are pleased with, serve.

Serve the chicken accompanied with some steamed green beans and roasted baby potatoes. Generously ladle the sauce over the chicken and veg and eat!!

Note: Saison is a farm house style ale which originating from Belgium, it is light, spritzy, spicy and quite often high in alcohol content. They were brewed as a seasonal ale for farm workers and as such each farm had its own version or style. In Australia there are a number of microbreweries in almost every state making their own delicious versions which are well worth chasing down. Imported Saison’s such as the famous Saison Dupont are now quite readily available at good liquor stores.

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From the book Mercurio’s Menu, published by Fairfax Books. Reproduced by permission.

Paul also has the excellent book, Cooking with Beer.

www.paulmercurio.net