Chicken in Olive Oil

Mr. Wiggles's Note:

The olive oil and garlic combination makes this dish richly flavorful and aromatic. When serving, make sure to include the garlic cloves if you really love garlic. These can then be crushed into the accompanying bread or rice.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 10 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 1 whole chicken, sliced into serving pieces
• 3 whole garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 head garlic, crushed
• salt and pepper
• 2 (2/3 ounce) envelopes italian seasoning
• 3 whole bay leaves (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Rub chicken pieces with whole garlic cloves. Discard the garlic cloves.
2. In a large skillet, heat half of the olive oil for a few seconds. Brown chicken in olive oil lightly on both sides.
3. Remove chicken pieces from pan and arrange, skin side down, in a baking dish. Pour the olive oil in the skillet and the remaining olive oil into same baking dish, making sure to coat chicken generously with the oil. Scatter the crushed garlic cloves all over the chicken. Season chicken with salt and pepper and sprinkle all over with the Italian seasoning. Cook in preheated oven about 25 minutes. turn chicken pieces over and tuck bay leaves in between the chicken pieces. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until chicken juices run clear. Serve chicken with the garlic cloves accompanied by rice or bread.
4. Variation: You may add a little butter to the olive oil. Let butter melt in the pan and mix with the olive oil before browning the chicken. This makes for a richer (but higher calorie) dish.