Last weekend I went to Costco with a friend and felt compelled to buy 2 pounds of fresh garlic, which is exactly 22 heads of garlic in my case. Sometimes I just like to give myself a challenge and I guess my current challenge is to use up 2 pounds of garlic.
In my mind garlic equals love, so for Valentine's Day, I roasted six heads of garlic and made a roasted garlic butter that I used in every part of my dinner. I mixed the roasted garlic butter into my broccoli and mashed potatoes and used it as a topping to finish off my strip steaks. It sounds like it would be overwhelmingly garlicky, but it wasn't. Instead it gave everything a rather mellow yet succulent garlic flavor.
Garlic Countdown: Down 6 with 16 to go
Today I'm using three heads of garlic to make Ruth Reichl's Confit Garlic Cloves, which is something I've always wanted to make. I won't lie to you, it really is a pain to peel all those garlic cloves, keeping them intact, but the results are worth it because you get the the softest, smoothest, creamiest garlic that spreads like butter. It's heavenly.
Garlic Countdown: Down 3 with 13 to go
In short, garlic is a very delicious and economical way to give your food a flavor boost! Whether you roast garlic or confit it, you are adding layers of flavor that will really elevate your dish. Ruth says to serve the garlic confit smeared onto pizza crust, country bread, mashed potatoes, or blended with mayonnaise for roast beef or pork sandwiches. I think it would be amazing served with hummus! The sky's the limit!
Garlic Countdown: 13 heads to go...wonder what you'll see next week!
Confit Garlic Cloves
Adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook
by Ruth Reichl
Makes about 1/2 cup
1/2 cup peeled garlic cloves (about 24)
about 1/2 cup olive oil
Put the garlic in a small heavy saucepan and add enough oil to cover garlic. Bring just to a simmer, reduce heat, and cook at a bare simmer until garlic is tender, about 25 minutes. Let garlic cool in oil.
*The confit garlic keeps, in the oil, for up to 2 weeks, covered and refrigerated.
I've always wanted to be the kind of person who has garlic confit on hand at all times to amplify any and every dish...maybe the secret to becoming this person is to just "accidentally" buy a whole lot of garlic! I think Ottolenghi has a recipe in Plenty for a soup that uses a whole lot of garlic - might be worth checking out!
ReplyDeleteWonderful idea! There are times I buy a big bag of garlic for the expressed purpose of making a confit. Garlic confit imparts that extra ump. You may want to try shaking cloves of garlic in two locking bowls (for a few minutes) which speed up removing the skins.
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