Shortly after harvesting the scapes, about one month, fresh garlic
is available. Some garlic connoisseurs prefer fresh garlic to cured;
nonetheless, fresh garlic is prepared the same as cured garlic. After
garlic is cured, it is storable from three to six months. In addition
to adding garlic to spice up all your favorite dishes, try the
following ideas.
Roasting Garlic
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Peel away the outer layers of the garlic
bulb skin, leaving the skins of the individual cloves intact. Using a
knife cut off 1/4 to a 1/2 inch of the top of cloves, exposing the
individual cloves of garlic. Place the garlic heads in a baking pan;
muffin pans work well for this purpose. Drizzle a couple teaspoons of
olive oil over each head, using your fingers to make sure the garlic
head is well coated. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 400°F for 30-35
minutes, or until the cloves feel soft when pressed.
Allow the garlic to cool enough so you can touch it without burning
yourself. Use a small knife cut the skin slightly around each clove.
Use a cocktail fork or your fingers to pull or squeeze the roasted
garlic cloves out of their skins.
Eat as is (I love straight roasted garlic) or mash with a fork and
use for cooking. Can be spread over warm French bread, mixed with sour
cream for a topping for baked potatoes, or mixed in with Parmesan and
pasta.
Quick recipe method: Spread individual unpeeled cloves evenly on
cookie sheet, drizzle with oil, and bake about 30 minutes, stirring
occasionally, until soft. Squeeze cloves onto freshly baked bread or
into a sealed, refrigerated container to be used within 3 days.
Roasted Garlic with Sourdough Bread and Baked Brie
4-5 heads garlic, peeled
1/2 stick butter
2/3-cup good grade olive oil
8 oz Brie, diced (or skinned if you don't like the shell)
1 bunch chives or green onions, thinly sliced
1 loaf brown and serve sourdough bread
Balsamic vinegar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Roast the garlic in a baking dish
with the butter, olive oil and anchovy paste for 30 minutes, stirring
once or twice. Place the Brie in the oven in a baking dish and place
the bread alongside the garlic. Bake for 20minutes, and then remove
from the oven. To serve, slice the sourdough bread, dip it in the
balsamic vinegar, smash some garlic into the bread, drizzle with melted
Brie and sprinkle with chopped chives/green
Cream of Roasted Garlic and Potato Soup
40 cloves of garlic
1 stick of celery
1/2 white onion
1 medium leek, chopped
3 medium to large potatoes
Fresh Thyme
2 pints of vegetable stock
Olive oil
Roast garlic in olive oil until golden. Add celery, onion and leek.
Add potatoes and thyme. Cover with stock and bring to a boil. Simmer 25
minutes. Blend and serve hot. Garnish with fresh parsley.
GARLIC MASHED POTATOES
Yukon Gold Potatoes
2-4 cloves of garlic
Cream
Butter
Peel, wash, and dice potatoes. Cover potatoes with water sufficient
cover, brine in kosher salt, and bring to a boil. Cook until potatoes
are tender and ready to mash. Mash the potatoes, beating in cream,
adding pressed garlic, and butter. Mix with beater until creamy smooth.
Garnish with fresh parsley. For a twist, add Parmesan cheese, and
crumbled bacon. Make sure to mash until cheese is no longer stringy.