Garlic is the most maligned foodstuff I can think of with probably the worst reputation from being cooked poorly and without respect.
RECIPES
BAGNA CÀUDA WITH PIEDMONTESE GARNISHES
GREEN GARLIC CHAMP WITH POACHED EGG & BROILED OX TONGUE
SMOKED & BAKED GARLIC WITH A SIMPLE GOOD OLD ROAST CHICKEN
Humans have used garlic for thousands of years in food and medicine and praised it, both for its beautiful flavor and its antibiotic properties. Islamic myth has it that the garlic plant sprang up in Satan’s left footprint as he was driven out of Eden. The ancient Egyptians thought it so powerful that they buried their dead with it. There are myths and magic surrounding garlic the whole world over and, depending on whom you believe, it’s native to either Asia or the Mediterranean or Africa. Well, I guess people will fight over its origin because it is central to cuisines the world over. What is a stir-fry without garlic? Or Bolognese? Or curry?
It’s available in just about every form, be it fresh, freeze-dried, as a paste, in powder form and granulated (but just don’t buy the pre-minced garlic in ajar). My rule of thumb is simple: buy the best garlic there is on offer. For example, there’s garlic that’s $7.99 per kilogram and garlic that’s $39.99 per kilogram, side by side at the grocer. You only need one bulb—even if you cook with garlic every day, and that one bulb will last you a week. Even if it cost you $1.20 compared to 40 cents, that 80 cents difference will give you 80 per cent difference in flavor and quality of not only the garlic but any dish you put it in. It’s also an investment—good garlic will last four months, stored in a dry cool place.
Most people probably wouldn’t think of growing their own garlic, but it is one of the easiest and loveliest things to grow. I only really got to know about techniques for growing garlic in the past two years through meeting people, including Brendan at Daylesford Organics and more recently Tim from Angelica Organic Farm, at farmers’ markets, and I thought about having a go at growing it myself. It’s amazing. Put one clove in the ground and, almost miraculously, a green shoot will appear. Over the next six months, the shoot produces a beautiful purple, blue or white blossom, depending on which variety you have. Then the shoot dies, which is the sign for you to dig down from a clove and you’ll discover a new bulb. Within that bulb there is a little shoot in the middle. Store that in a cool dark place until it has dried out, then replant and, from that single clove of garlic, another bulb will emerge.
Another way to grow garlic is to save the seed when the plant flowers, then sow it. Interestingly, though, from the seed, only an individual clove of garlic will grow—this is fittingly dubbed single clove garlic or sweet garlic, which is highly sought after and absolutely stunning. Garlic has a much more refined flavor when grown as a single clove. Just finely chop and fry the single clove, or even just poach it whole in milk, and taste the flavor difference for yourself.
You’ll notice if you grow it yourself that garlic can reproduce in all sorts of different shapes and sizes, which makes it all the more amazing that organic growers can consistently produce beautiful uniform cloves and heads.
When I was young I’d pick wild garlic that grew all around the creeks in Barnsley and around Silkston. Twice a year it would come up and flower, but it was always strongest in spring, and I always remember walking the dog or going on horse treks with my sister and having the smell of sweet garlic in the breeze. You could simply pick the gorgeous green stalks and bite them. The taste was so fresh, mild and beautiful.
There are about 600 cultivated varieties, though we are rarely offered so many at the supermarket. If you want to try some different kinds then I’d suggest either going to a farmers” market or good organic grocer where they may stock a few different types. They are often named after their place of origin, like Australian White, New Zealand Purple and Italian White and, when you’re cooking garlic, it does pay to be aware of the different varieties and flavors available, from really earthy hazelnut flavors to really sweet, almost vinegar-scented ones. Sometimes garlic can even be almost reminiscent of ginger and galangal.
If you use lovely fresh garlic, it should be quite mild. To check if the garlic is fresh, cut a clove in half and if there is a green shoot inside, it means that it is getting old (and basically is ready to be planted again). Ideally you can save the entire clove and plant it. You can use the clove in your cooking but make sure you remove the green shoot first as it’s quite indigestible and, more importantly, it has a different, more astringent and entirely unpleasant, flavor to the rest of the garlic.
Should you find that your garlic is very strong smelling and almost “sappy” on your fingers when you’re peeling it, then it is best to blanch it to get rid of some of the excess oil. Take peeled whole cloves (or halved with the green shoot removed if necessary), put in a saucepan and cover with cold water with a pinch of salt and bring to a boil, then drain. Repeat the processs with fresh cold salted water four more times to remove the sappy residue and the “garlicky” aftertaste.
Garlic needs to be cooked; if you eat it raw or add it to a dish at the last minute, you can’t maximize on its full sweetness and flavor potential.
I’ve heard some top chefs say you shouldn’t toast garlic or let it go crispy—but I love crisp brown garlic! Especially in pasta with some fresh anchovies, tomatoes and herbs.
Garlic benefits from being braised, say, in a beef stew. Halve the garlic first so they take on the rich beef flavors. Another lovely and easy thing to do is to simply poach potatoes and a heap of garlic cloves in milk. Just bring the mixture up to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are soft. Season, throw the mix in a blender and you have a beautiful soup that you can serve with toasted garlic as a garnish. This is a delicate soup to which you can add croûtons, lardons or broiled sardines.
Everyone gets scared of stinking like garlic. But if you treat it properly you shouldn’t wake up in the morning with a garlic hangover.
BAGNA CÀUDA WITH PIEDMONTESE GARNISHES
SERVES 2 (OR 8 AS A NIBBLE)
Recently while in Piedmont in Italy I had this most beautiful dip called bagna càuda with raw and roasted vegetables as garnishes as a snack. Bagna càuda is a garlic and anchovy sauce, which not only works superbly with chicken and any game birds but is also lovely smeared on bread with some lettuce and slices of hot beef.
15 LARGE GARLIC CLOVES, SLICED INTO FOUR
⅔ CUP MILK
⅓ CUP EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
3 TABLESPOONS CHARDONNAY VINEGAR
1 LONG RED CHILI, HALVED, SEEDS REMOVED AND THINLY SLICED
1 TEASPOON WHITE SUGAR
10 ANCHOVY FILLETS
FINE SEA SALT
THE CLASSIC GARNISHES OF THE OLD PIEDMONTESE DAYS ARE COOKED CARDOON STALK AND RAW RED PEPPER, BUT I LIKE TO USE A SELECTION OF THE FOLLOWING:
THINLY SLICED RAW SUNCHOKES
HALVED RAW RADISHES
ROMAINE LETTUCE LEAVES AND HEARTS
RADICCHIO LEAVES
RED BELGIAN ENDIVE LEAVES
RAW BABY TURNIPS
CABBAGE LEAVES
BABY CARROTS
ROASTED PEPPERS
ROASTED BEETS
CELERY STICKS
CRUSTY FRESH BREAD
For the bagna càuda, place the garlic and milk in a saucepan and bring to a boil, turn down the heat to low and gently simmer for 10–15 minutes or until the garlic has softened. Strain, discarding the milk. Give the garlic a rinse and pat dry with paper towels. Wash out the pan and return the garlic to it. Add the olive oil and cook over low heat for 40–50 minutes or until the garlic starts to turn a light brown but make sure it does not catch on the base of the pan. Now add the vinegar, chili and sugar and cook for 10–15 minutes or until the chili softens. Add the anchovies and cook for 4–5 minutes. Take off the heat and, using a fork, mash all the ingredients together until mushy. Taste to see if it needs some salt and maybe a little more vinegar. Serve warm with your desired garnishes.
GREEN GARLIC CHAMP WITH POACHED EGG & BROILED OX TONGUE
SERVES 4 AS AN ENTRÉE
Green garlic is immature garlic and is a lot like scallions—you can use the top and the bulb part of the plant. You may turn your nose up at ox tongue but I love it and any good butcher should have some.
2 CUPS MILK
5½ OUNCES CHOPPED GREEN GARLIC (YOUNG SINGLE CLOVE GARLIC), GREEN TIPS RESERVED
1 POTATO (A GOOD MASHING VARIETY), SLICED
SEA SALT
JUICE OF 1 LEMON
3 TEASPOONS WHITE VINEGAR
4 FREE-RANGE OR ORGANIC EGGS
8 SLICES PICKLED OX TONGUE FROM YOUR LOCAL BUTCHER
¼ BUNCH ITALIAN PARSLEY, LEAVES PICKED AND CHOPPED
For the green garlic champ, place the milk in a 6-Cup capacity saucepan and bring to a boil, whisking all the time to prevent scorching on the base. Add the garlic and potato and cook for 15 minutes or until they are soft. Pass through a strainer, reserving both, the cooking liquid and solids. Blitz, the solids in a food processor, adding a little bit of the reserved cooking liquid at a time until the mixture is the consistency of wet polenta. Season with the salt and lemon juice to taste and stir through the green tips of the garlic.
For the poached eggs, place 4 cups of water and the vinegar in a 8-cup capacity saucepan, bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to a simmer. With a spoon, stir the water counter-clockwise, then crack in all four eggs. Poach for 3–3½ minutes or until the whites are cooked but the yolks still oozy. Remove with a slotted spoon, pat dry on a tea towel and, kapow, you’ve got yourself a perfect runny poached egg.
Heat a chargrill (griddle) pan over medium-high heat and broil the ox tongue on both sides.
To serve, place some of the garlic champ on each plate, lay a slice of tongue over, top with a poached egg and sprinkle with the parsley.
SMOKED & BAKED GARLIC WITH A SIMPLE GOOD OLD ROAST CHICKEN
SERVES 4
My friends Meg and Blakey have a farm down in the Grampians in Victoria, Australia, and they produce the most beautiful smoked garlic which they sell at farmers’ markets. This is an accompaniment to a roasted free-range chicken and is one of the highlights of simple cookery to me.
4 SMALL BULBS OF ORGANIC GARLIC
1 CUP SMOKING CHIPS (FOUND AT MOST HOME AND HARDWARE STORES)
½ BUNCH THYME
½ BUNCH OREGANO
½ CUP JASMINE RICE
4 POUNDS FREE-RANGE CHICKEN
⅓ CUP OLIVE OIL
SEA SALT AND FRESHLY GROUND BLACK PEPPER
Preheat the oven to 500°F and arrange two racks inside.
Soak the bulbs of garlic in water for 5 minutes or so. This helps the smoke absorb into the garlic and it also prevents it from burning.
Line a heavy-bottomed flameproof roasting tray (measuring 11½ × 11½ × 2 inches) with foil. Place the smoking chips, herbs and rice into the tray and place over low heat. Place a wire rack inside the tray over the smoking chip mixture and sit the bulbs of garlic on the rack. When the chips start to change color to a light brown, cover the tray with foil and place in the oven.
Take another roasting tray of similar size. Rinse the chicken inside and out with water and pat dry with paper towels. Place the chicken in the tray, rub all over with the olive oil and season with the salt. Roast for 25 minutes, then turn down the heat to 350°F and continue roasting for a further 20 minutes. Take the chicken and garlic out of the oven. Slice the chicken in between the leg and body and if there are no pink bits in between the leg and thigh bones, then it is cooked. Leave the chicken on top of the stove for 15 minutes to rest.
Carve the chicken into pieces and place the smoked garlic alongside. The smoked garlic should be a beautiful dark brown. Let your guests pod the garlic out of its skin and eat whole. It’s a whole new experience eating garlic this way. I’d serve this dish with a simple salad of leaves from the garden or any other vegetables that are in season.
