Garlicky Roasted Chicken with Garlic Jus on Garlic Toast

For the garlic paste:

• 1 head garlic (about 20 cloves), peeled and coarsely chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

For the chicken:

• 1 (3-1/2- to 4-pound) whole chicken
• 2 heads garlic, one whole, the other separated into cloves and left unpeeled
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for tossing with the garlic and oiling the chicken
• 10 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1/2 lemon, cut into 4 wedges
• 1 celery stalk, cut into 3-inch pieces

For the garlic jus and garlic croutons:

• 2 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth, divided
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 loaf day-old pain au levain or other crusty white bread, halved and cut into 1-inch-thick slices
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 to 2 raw garlic cloves, peeled and halved

1. Heat the oven to 450°F and arrange rack in middle. Mash together the chopped head of garlic, thyme, salt, and olive oil. Season with pepper.
2. Remove the bag of giblets from inside the chicken and discard everything but the neck. Rinse the chicken inside and out, and pat dry with paper towels. Season well with salt. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to stuff.
3. When ready to stuff, remove chicken from the refrigerator and place on a cutting board. Remove the first two sections of the wing, leaving the third bone attached. Reserve wings with the neck. Carefully slide your fingers underneath the skin on each breast, thigh, and at the neck to loosen the skin.
4. Evenly distribute the garlic paste under the skin and inside the chicken cavity. Slice off the top of the whole head of garlic, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and rub with a little olive oil. Place garlic inside the cavity with 5 sprigs of the thyme. Tie the chicken drumsticks together with kitchen twine. Rub the skin with olive oil, and season well with salt and pepper.
5. Toss the unpeeled garlic cloves, lemon wedges, celery pieces, and remaining thyme sprigs, reserved wings and neck with about 1 tablespoon olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, and mound this mixture in the center of a roasting pan. Place the chicken on top of the mound, breast side down. Allow to sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes.
6. Place chicken in oven and roast for 15 minutes, then remove the pan from the oven and turn the bird breast side up.
7. Return the pan to the oven and reduce heat to 375°F. Continue roasting for 25 more minutes. In a small bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups of the chicken broth with wine and pour over chicken. Continue roasting until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165°F, about 15 to 20 minutes more. Remove from oven.
8. Place chicken on a clean cutting board and allow to rest while you finish the jus. Remove lemon wedges from the roasting pan and discard. Pour contents of the roasting pan into a medium saucepan and add remaining 3/4 cup chicken broth. Cut string off chicken drumsticks, remove garlic head from the chicken’s cavity and place in the pan. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes, skimming away the fat as it rises to the surface. Strain this mixture, reserving several of the whole garlic cloves to serve with each portion. Keep warm.
9. Brush the bread slices with olive oil on both sides. While you carve the chicken, toast the bread in the oven until crisp. Cut the chicken into serving pieces.
10. When the croutons are toasted, rub the surface of each with the cut end of a raw garlic clove.
11. To serve, place a crouton in a shallow bowl and top with a piece of chicken. Pour some jus over top and garnish with several of the reserved cooked garlic cloves. Serve extra garlic toasts on the side.

Beverage pairing:

White: A full-bodied Rhône-style white has the stuffing to take on both the chicken and the robust garlic component of this dish. We like the 2004 Tablas Creek Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc, made with Roussanne, Grenache Blanc, and Picpoul.

Red: Copious amounts of garlic, along with the sweet nuances of thyme, beg for a juicy, Grenache-based red. Try something inexpensive and fruit-driven from the South of France, like the 2005 Vacqueyras from Domaine de Montvac.