Garlic Sauce

This is one of my favorite sauces to make.  It is delicious, it is versatile, it is easy and it smells heavenly.  I used to make it for pasta, but now that we have made the move to paleo, I reinvented the main dish and used chicken and veggies instead of pasta.

The Sauce –

• 1 head of garlic.
• Olive oil (EVOO)
• White wine (a little less than 1/2 a bottle).  I used a cheap Chardonnay.
• 4 lemons, zest and juice
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Smash and peel each clove of garlic and throw it into a medium size sauce pan.  Add enough EVOO to cover the garlic.  Add the zest from the 4 lemons.  We are basically making a garlic confit sauce.

Turn on your burner to medium (I did 3/5 on my electric stove) and watch the oil start to heat up.  Watch carefully because we don’t want the oil to get too hot and burn the garlic.  Once it is just starting to bubble turn it down to low (I left my burner on 1).  Now just leave it for about 30 minutes.  I like the garlic to look a light and toasty brown.

When you come back in about 30 min the garlic should be starting to break down.  I now use my whisk to continue to break up the garlic and whisk it into the olive oil.  The sauce should turn slightly milky in color.

Add the lemon juice and white wine.  Let it simmer for another 15 minutes or so.  Whisking occasionally.

The Accouterments –

• Chicken.  I used boneless, skinelss thighs because I think they have a better flavor than chicken breasts and they fit in our budget since they are cheaper at the grocery store by $2/lb.
• Arugula
• Spinach
• Parsley, chopped (optional)
• Parmesan cheese (optional)

Additional Topping Ideas

• Roasted red peppers
• Roasted cherry tomatoes

Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  I decided to grill them so I also coated them in olive oil.  Alternatively they could be sauteed in some olive oil.

The Assembly –

I filled my bowl with a mixture of arugula and spinach.  Then I topped with the hot garlic sauce so that the greens would lightly wilt but not fully cook down.  I topped with the chicken, parsley, and cheese.  Voila!

I love that this dish is so packed with flavor from the garlic sauce to the spicy arugula.  We did not miss eating this with pasta one bit.  Pasta would have just filled us up without adding anything; it would have hindered the awesome convergence of flavors.