Garlic Cooking Tips and HInts
One raw garlic clove, finely minced or pressed releases more flavor than a dozen cooked whole cloves.
To bring out the full flavor, and health benefits of garlic, let chopped or crushed garlic sit at least 10 minutes before adding it to the recipe.
When garlic cloves are cooked or baked whole, the flavor mellows into a sweet, almost nutty flavor that can make a surprisingly nice addition to desserts, such as brownies or even ice cream.
Cooked, whole, unpierced cloves barely have any aroma at all, while raw garlic is the strongest in flavor.
When sauteing garlic, be careful not to burn it. The flavor turns intensely bitter, and you'll have to start over.
If you have a good garlic press, you don't need to peel garlic cloves before pressing. Just place the unpeeled clove in the tool cavity, press and discard the skins left in the cavity. A terrific time saver when pressing several cloves.
The smaller you cut garlic, the stronger the flavor. Finely chopping and/or pressing a clove exposes more surfaces to the air, causing a chemical reaction to product a strong aroma and potent flavor.
Garlic Butter
- 3 sticks butter, softened
- 1 cup crushed garlic
- optional additions, 1/4 cup chives or parsley
Press or finely chop garlic. Mix into soft butter. Add chives or parsley if desired. Mix. Shape butter into logs. Wrap in waxed paper then place in freezer bags or plastic wrap.
Store in freezer up to 6 months.
Garlic Basil Pesto
- 4 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 2 cups basil leaves, packed
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup pine nuts or walnuts, lightly toasted
Place all ingredients in food processor. Cover and blend on medium speed about 1 minute. Scrape sides, blend another minute or until smooth. Toss with hot cooked pasta or use as you would any other pesto. Pesto can be frozen for later use.
Garlic Scape Hummus
- 2 - 15 oz cans chickpeas or garbanzo beans drained (reserve 1/4 cup of bean juice)
- 6-12 garlic scapes
- 3-4 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup sesame seeds
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 3/4 cup of packed parsley
Place all ingredients in food processor. Cover and blend on medium speed about 1 minute. Scrape sides, blend another minute or until smooth. Add additional bean juice if hummus is too thick. Serve with pita bread, crackers, or veggies.
Whole Roasted Garlic
- whole firm head of garlic with plump cloves
- olive oil for drizzling
- aluminum foil
- small baking dish
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Use knife to cut about 1/2 inch off the top of the head of garlic to expose the cloves. Place garlic on a square of foil. Drizzle with olive oil; then wrap in foil. Roast in oven 20-30 minutes until garlic is soft. Scoop or squeeze roasted garlic cloves out of their skins.
Serve with french bread, mash and use for cooking, toss with warm pasta, top a baked potato, or eat it straight. Enjoy!
Roasted Garlic & Almond Spread
Prep Time: 30 min. | Cook Time: 1 hour
Ingredients
- 16 Cloves Garlic
- 1/4 Cup unblanched sliced almonds, chopped
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 8 oz. cream cheese at room temperature
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 2 tsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tsp. dried rosemary leaves, crushed
- 2 shallots, chopped
- 3 Tbsp. whipping cream
- 1/4 tsp Tabasco sauce (or any hot sauce)
Preparation
Preheat oven to 275° F.
Place garlic in a shallow, oven-proof casserole, drizzle with olive oil, and toss to coat. Bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool in the oil for at least 30 minutes.
Place almonds in a heavy fry pan over high heat and toast the almonds until they are lightly browned. Let cool.
Scrape garlic and oil into a food processor and puree until smooth. Add cream cheese, sour cream, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. Process until well-blended. Add the almonds, parsley, rosemary, shallots, whipping cream and Tabasco sauce. Pulse until incorporated, but not completely smooth.
Scrape garlic into a glass serving dish and chill for 4 hours. Serve with crackers. May be made up to a day in advance. Refrigerate leftovers in a covered container and use within 1 day.
Garlicky Chicken Adobo
Prep Time: 10 min. | Cook Time: 30 minutes (garlicfestival recipes.com)
Ingredients
- 4 pounds chicken cut into serving size pieces
- 1/2 cup vinegar; white, cider, or wine
- 10 - 12 garlic cloves, peeled and cut in half
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- course ground black pepper, to taste
Preparation
Remove skin if desired.
Brown chicken briefly on all sides in a large non-stick skillet. Drain off fat. Add garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, water, and pepper. Cover and simmer at least 30 minutes or until very tender. Turn chicken once during cooking.
Serve with rice.
Garlic Scape Pesto
Scapes are the young curly shoots of garlic (also known as green garlic). They are cut from the top of the finest hardneck garlic plants to allow the bulb to continue to grow. If scapes are left on the plant, it slows the growth of the garlic bulb. Scapes are only available for several weeks in late spring. They are tender and have a milder flavor than garlic cloves. Scapes can be stir-fried, steamed, pickled, or chopped and used raw. We enjoy them in pesto.
- 1 lb chopped garlic scapes
- 1 cup olive oil
- 1 cups grated parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup pine nuts or walnuts, lightly toasted
Place all ingredients in food processor. Cover and blend on medium speed about 1 minute. Scrape sides, blend another minute or until smooth. Toss with hot cooked pasta or use as you would any other pesto. Pesto can be frozen for later use.
Chicken with 40 cloves
Prep Time: 20 min. | Cook Time: 1 hour 35 minutes (All recipes.com)
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp butter
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 whole chicken (4 - 41/2 pounds)
- 40 cloves of garlic peeled (3 heads)
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. thyme
- 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 ° F.
Melt butter with olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add chicken to the Dutch oven and brown on all sides, 5-10 minutes. Remove chicken to a cutting board.
Drain all but 2 tablespoons of liquid from the pan; stir garlic cloves into reserved liquid. Place chicken back into pan. Sprinkle with water, lemon juice, salt, thyme and black pepper. Cover tightly.
Bake chicken in preheated oven until juices run clear, about 90 minutes. Insert an instant read thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh. It should read 180°. Remove chicken from oven. Cover with foil and allow to rest 10 minutes before slicing.
Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Prep Time: 10 min. | Cook Time: 30 minutes (about.com)
Ingredients
- 10 cloves garlic
- olive oil
- 2 pounds potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh oregano
- 1 Tablespoon minced chives
Preparation
Preheat oven to 400°F. Place unpeeled garlic cloves in a piece of heavy-duty foil, sprinkle with a little olive oil, and seal into a packet. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes until soft. Let cool, then squeeze the garlic pulp into a small bowl.
While the garlic is roasting, place potatoes in a large pot, cover with salted water, and bring to a boil. Simmer until potatoes are tender, but not falling apart. drain thoroughly and return to the pot.
Add the garlic paste, sour cream, milk, salt, and pepper to the potatoes. mash until fairly smooth, then stir in oregano and chives. Serve .
Yield: 6 servings
Beef Brisket with 40 Cloves of Garlic
Prep Time: 20 min. | Cook Time: 3 hours (about.com)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 (5-6 pound) beef brisket, rinsed and patted dry
- Kosher salt and freshly-ground pepper
- 40 large cloves garlic, peeled (3-4 heads)
- 1 large sweet onion, sliced and separated into rings
- 1/4 cup red wine or balsamic vinegar
- 2-3 cups beef or chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano, crushed
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
Preparation
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Season brisket liberally on both sides with kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper.
Heat a large Dutch oven or heavy, deep-sided, oven-proof skillet with a lid over medium-high heat. Add olive oil to coat the bottom. Sear both sides of brisket, beginning with fat-side down, until golden brown. Remove to a platter.
Add garlic cloves and sweet onion rings to the remaining oil in the pan. Cook and stir until garlic begins to turn golden and sweet onions are limp.
Add red wine or balsamic vinegar and deglaze the pan, stirring for 1 minute while scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add beef or chicken broth, oregano, and basil. bring back to a simmer, then turn off heat. Move garlic and onions to the side and return brisket to the Dutch oven or skillet. Spoon garlic and onions over the top of the brisket, cover tightly, and place in the oven.
Bake for 1 hour at 325°F. Reduce heat to 300 and bake and additional 1-1/2 to 2 hours, or until brisket is fork-tender. Remove brisket to a platter and cover to keep warm. Let rest for 10 minutes.
Remove half of garlic cloves and most of onions to a bowl. Skim off excess oil from the pan gravy and discard. Blend pan gravy and garlic until smooth. You can add a flour or cornstarch slurry to thicken gravy, if you wish. Return reserved whole garlic cloves and onions to the gravy.
Slice brisket diagonally across the grain. Serve with pan gravy.
Yield: 8-10 servings
Serve with rice.