Ingredients
  • 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 1 4-pound chicken, quartered
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/3 pound chunk Speck (smoked prosciutto), pancetta or meaty slab bacon, diced
  • 2 ribs celery with leafy tops, chopped
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 8 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 small red chile pepper, halved lengthwise
  • Herb bundle of 4 stems rosemary, handful of sage, 2 bay leaves
  • 1 bottle red wine such as Montefalco Sangratino or other Italian red wine
  • About 2 tablespoons Acacia (light in color and flavor) honey
  • 8 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed, about 2 ½ pounds
  • 1 cups whole milk
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1/4 pound Taleggio or ripe Camembert
  • 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
  • Nutmeg, freshly grated, to taste
Preparation

Pat chicken dry and season chicken with salt and pepper.
 
Heat a large Dutch oven over medium high heat, add olive oil, 2 turns of the pan, brown chicken skin side down first on both sides, remove to plate.  Add speck, pancetta or bacon and stir a minute or 2, add carrots, celery, onions, half the garlic, herb bundle, salt and pepper, stir to soften 5 minutes, add wine and honey, bring to boil, add chicken and simmer 30-40 minutes to thicken. 

 
Place potatoes in a pot, cover with cold water, bring to boil, salt liberally, boil to tender, drain and return to hot pot.
 
In a wide pan heat milk with remaining garlic and butter over medium heat to low simmer.  Add milk mixture to potatoes and mash, melt in Taleggio or Camemebert and Parmigiano-Reggiano then season with salt and pepper and nutmeg, to taste.
 
Serve chicken alongside potatoes.

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