Garlic is a delicious ingredient that adds flavor to a large number of savory dishes. Fresh is most commonly roasted or sauteed. Both methods allow the natural taste of this aromatic vegetable to be released, while at the same time diminishing the intense flavor and strong smell that characterize it when raw. If you have decided to roast the garlic, you can leave the head whole until you begin preparing it for cooking. If you're going to skip it, you'll need to peel it off and chop or dice it before putting it in the pan.
Ingrediants
- 1 head of garlic
- 2 teaspoons of olive oil (for the roasted garlic)
- 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil (for the minced garlic)
- 300 ml of olive oil (for the garlic fried in abundant oil)
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Roast the Garlic
Step 1. Buy a fresh head of garlic from the supermarket
Heads of garlic are sold in most supermarkets. If you prefer fresher, organic, or locally grown garlic, look for it at a health food store, organic supermarket, or vegetable market. Fresh garlic is in season from July to early October.
A head of garlic is made up of 8-10 individual cloves enclosed by the bulb
Step 2. Preheat the oven
Before you start preparing the garlic for roasting, set the oven to 200 ° C.
Step 3. Remove the outer layer of the peel
Use your fingers to break apart and remove the outermost layers of the garlic peel. You can leave the thickest and thickest layers around the wedges. Only the limp part, the one that has a paper-like consistency, needs to be removed.
Leave the head whole: do not remove individual cloves of garlic
Step 4. Cut the top of the wedges
Using a sharp kitchen knife, cut a small piece about 0.5-1.5 cm from the top of the individual wedges. Perform this procedure when the cloves are still joined together at the base of the garlic head. This will cook it well and allow the olive oil to penetrate during cooking.
As always, safety comes first when using kitchen knives. Make the cut by facing the knife outward, with the edge away from your body, and never touching the sharp edge of the blade
Step 5. Place the garlic in a muffin pan with the cut side facing up
Place the peeled and cut garlic head in one of the compartments of a muffin pan. If you don't have one available, you can also put it in a baking dish. However, in this case it will not be supported on the sides, so it is possible that it will turn during cooking.
Step 6. Pour 2 teaspoons of olive oil over the garlic
Do this slowly, so that the oil gets into the garlic and doesn't collect at the bottom of the mold. After pouring the olive oil on the garlic head, rub it into the open ends of the individual cloves with the help of your fingers.
This will ensure that the roasted garlic soaks well in oil and acquires a rich, intense flavor
Step 7. Wrap the garlic head in aluminum foil
After rubbing the olive oil, tear off a small piece of aluminum foil. Wrap it tightly around the garlic head to keep the oil in it while cooking.
Step 8. Bake for 35 minutes
Put the mold in the oven. Once 35 minutes have passed, check the garlic to see if it is cooked properly. Tighten your head using an oven mitt. If it is soft when it comes to squeezing, then it is cooked well.
- If the garlic isn't soft, let it cook for another 5-10 minutes.
- To confirm that the garlic is cooked well, insert a kitchen knife in the center. You should be able to slide it on easily, with almost no resistance.
Step 9. Open and serve the garlic
Once you have let it cool for a few minutes, remove and discard the aluminum foil. Remove the roasted wedges from their skins using a small knife or spoon. They should come out without any difficulty. If some cloves have stuck to the peel, gently pry them off with a spoon or knife to peel them off. Roasted garlic cloves can be eaten immediately if you are hungry, but they can also be added to a dish.
- Roasted garlic can be crushed and spread on a hot baguette or added to a pasta dish.
- Store leftovers in an airtight plastic container. Garlic can be kept in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Method 2 of 3: Skip the Shredded Garlic
Step 1. Crush a clove of garlic to remove the peel
Take a single clove and place it on a cutting board. Take a chef's or kitchen knife and place the flat surface of the blade on the wedge. Then, place your wrist on it and press it firmly directly over the garlic.
With this action you will break the peel of the garlic and make it easier to remove. Detach the individual cloves from the head of the garlic using your fingers
Step 2. Peel the clove
Once the peel has broken, remove it from the clove with your fingers. The peel of many cloves is made up of more than one layer. Make sure you remove all of them before trying to cut the wedge.
If you have a clove of garlic that has a particularly difficult peel to remove, you will need to pierce it with the tip of a kitchen knife to peel it off. This will make it easier to take off
Step 3. Chop the garlic clove
Use the kitchen knife to make 4 or 5 cuts along the wedge. Then, finely chop it up by performing an oscillating or "rocking" motion (ie the movement typically made with a chef's knife). Each clove of garlic should be less than 3mm in size.
- You can chop the garlic as you wish based on the size you want to get.
- In culinary jargon, chopping an onion or a clove of garlic means cutting it into relatively large chunks, with a width and length of about 1.5 cm. The diced onion or garlic pieces have half this size, while the chopped onion or garlic is cut into very fine pieces, each characterized by a width and a length of about 5 mm.
- Discard the hard end found at the base of the garlic clove. This part is fibrous, thick and unpleasant to eat.
Step 4. Pour 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil into a pan
The bottom of the pan should be completely coated with oil, but you won't need a thick layer. The serving size may need to be adjusted depending on the size of the pan and the amount of garlic you intend to skip.
Use a small pan (about 20cm in diameter) to sauté a head of garlic
Step 5. Put the garlic in the pan and turn on the gas
Use a kitchen knife to transfer the minced garlic from the cutting board to the pan. Put it on the stove and set the flame to medium-high. The garlic will start to sizzle and cook within 30 seconds.
Putting the garlic in the cold oil helps to cook it right and prevent it from burning
Step 6. Stir the garlic to keep it from burning
When garlic is skipped, the risk of it burning is always around the corner. In fact, the minced garlic has such fine pieces that after being golden they can burn very quickly. Keep an eye on it as it cooks and stir it often with a wooden spoon or spatula, so it cooks evenly on all sides. Cooking should take less than 5 minutes.
To prevent the sautéed garlic from burning, you can employ a simple trick. Prepare the other ingredients of the dish first and skip the garlic only at the end. This way you won't risk accidentally leaving it on the stove for longer than necessary while dealing with another ingredient
Step 7. Serve the sauteed garlic
Once the garlic is golden brown and has begun to give off its characteristic smell, remove the pan from the heat. Remove the garlic from the hot pan to prevent it from continuing to cook.
- Sauteed garlic can be added to many pasta dishes, dishes prepared with the sautéed method, soups, stews or sauces.
- It is difficult to keep sauteed garlic that is left over. Although it can be kept in the fridge for 3-4 days, it will lose its crunchy texture and become mushy.
Method 3 of 3: Fry the Garlic in Plentiful Oil
Step 1. Remove the cloves from 1 or 2 large garlic heads and place them in a large plastic bowl
Peel the cloves (with the peel) off the garlic heads using your fingers. You should get about 10-20 single wedges.
Each head of garlic should weigh approximately 85g
Step 2. Pour 500ml of hot water over the wedges and stir
The water should be hot, but not hot. You can therefore use the one that comes out of the kitchen tap. Once you have covered the wedges, mix them with a wooden spoon in a circular motion. Stir them constantly for 1 minute.
Stirring them in the hot water should soften the skins
Step 3. Drain the water and peel the wedges
Hold the wedges steady with one hand as you pour the water into the sink. Then, remove the peel that has peeled off each wedge using your fingers. Peel the peel from each single clove.
You can throw away the peel pieces you removed. Also cut the end of the wedge where the stem is located using a kitchen knife
Step 4. Place the wedges in a saucepan and add 300ml of olive oil
The oil should completely cover the wedges at the bottom of the pot. Olive oil can be substituted with canola or grapeseed oil.
A medium-sized saucepan will work for this step. Use one with a diameter of about 15 cm
Step 5. Simmer the oil over medium-low heat
Adjust the heat and keep an eye on the olive oil to check when it begins to simmer. Only bubbles should form, and it should not come to a boil. If you have a liquid thermometer, put it in boiling oil. It should have a temperature between 100 and 105 ° C.
If it starts to boil, lower the heat and remove the saucepan from the heat for 2 minutes
Step 6. Simmer the garlic for 35 minutes
When it has become well cooked, it will acquire a darker and duller tone. In addition, the cooked wedges will soften to the point of being able to break them by simply pressing them with a spoon.
Once the garlic has become opaque and well cooked, remove the saucepan from the heat and let the oil cool
Step 7. Store the garlic in an airtight container
If you're not going to use it right away in the kitchen, keep it in the fridge for later use. Put it in an airtight plastic container. That way it should keep fresh for about a week.
