Roasted Garlic

Roasted Garlic

If you have followed my blog, you might have discovered that I really really like garlic. My life would not be complete without my loved ones, red wine, garlic, bread, cheese and maybe even bacon. 

Roasted garlic is addictive, it's a healthy kind of crack cocaine. You should be aiming for a lighter color on the garlic, because the dark caramelized garlic is bitter, but my phone rang just as they were perfect, and the 2 minutes later they were caramelized. I squeezed the soft sweet garlic out of the bulb, and cut of the brown parts. And ohh what a taste. Just spread the soft garlic on a piece of toasted bread or crostini. If served with a great glass of wine, you might hear the angels sing.

Ingredients:

• 5-6 garlic bulbs
• 5-6 teaspoons olive oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375℉ (190℃). Cut off the top quarter of the garlic bulb to just reveal the single cloves. Lightly rub each bulb, so you only leave 1 layer "paper" round the garlic. Pour about a teaspoon of olive oil on top of each garlic bulb and let it sit to soak for about 10 minutes.

Place the garlic bulbs in a baking dish. Cover the garlics with foil and roast them for 30-45 minutes, or until light-golden brown, and the garlic is soft and spreadable. Let the garlic cool for a few minutes, so you can handle them. Squeeze from the bottom of the garlic head to release sweet soft baked garlic.

Enjoy!

40 Cloves of Garlic Chicken

40 Cloves of Garlic Chicken

When I saw this recipe on saveur.com, I knew I had to try it, because I love, love, love garlic. 40 cloves of garlic is a lot, but the garlic cooked in the sauce and became sweet and soft. There were no sharp garlicky taste. I really loved how the vermouth played off the tarragon and sweet soft garlic cloves. I opted for chicken thighs instead of a whole chicken cut up, and the thighs turned out juicy and flavorful. I served roasted root vegetables with the chicken and it paired up perfectly. We are definitely having this again soon.  

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 6 chicken thighs, skin on bone-in

• 40 cloves garlic, peeled

• 400 g button mushrooms, sliced

• ½ cup (1 dl) dry vermouth

• 1½ teaspoon chicken base + ¾ cup water (or a good chicken stock)

• 1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, chopped

• salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Heat oven to 400℉ (200℃).

Heat oil in an ovenproof sauté-pan over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper, and sear them in pan, turning once, until browned, about 10 minutes. Place the chicken on a plate and set aside. Add garlic to pan and cook until browned in spots it only takes a few minutes. Take out about ¼ of the garlic, and mash the remaining in the pan, and add mushrooms, vermouth and stock. Place the chicken back in the pan, with the whole garlic cloves. Bake the chicken for 15-20 minutes until tender. Garnish with tarragon.

Serve with roasted root vegetables.

Enjoy!