Garlic Fest

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O.K., so I get a little crazy when it comes to a good deal. I use quite a bit of fresh garlic when I'm cooking so when I saw a bundle of 20 garlics for sale at under 2$ canadian, I just had to buy it.

Now I have a heck of a lot of garlic and I'd sure hate to see it go to waste so any of you SP chefs have some recipies for me to use up the garlic?

 

You could incorporate crushed garlic in home-made spaghetti sauce, or make your own garlic butter. I'll check my cookbook and see if I find anything else

 

Garlic recipes Try this Dragonfly

 

I love the so called garlic bread. A bit like toasts but baked and with slices of fresh garlic on it and also cheese if you like.

 

Your Best bet is to chop the garlic into a bottle and fill it with a good extra virgin olive oil leave it for at least a week to steep. Then use it to make sauces etc also drizzle it over bread and toast it to make Bruschetta

 

If you ever get a cold you can ease the symptoms with a garlic soup. I don't know a recipe but I hear it clears your pipes quite nicely.

Also you can get great party entertainment by having someone eat a big chunk of garlic by itself, and chew on it really long before swallowing. I tried it and it's great fun (I wasn't a big hit at the bar afterwards). The effects naturally depend on how strong the particular type you got is.

 

Or if you have bad spirits to drive away, just eat it as it is.

The best cold-buster is a few shots of 94% alcohol with a can of 7up. Always works for me.

 

A lot of good suggestions here. I use garlic by default in almost all my cooking. A bunch of garlic only lasts about a week in my house.

 

I use a lot of garlic too but usually a couple cloves a day, not the whole bulbs! There were a lot of great suggestions.

@ Darkstrider - How long does the garlic keep if I do it that way?

@ Susipasti -

- Uhhhh ...you that that would make a person really popular at a party? I have a relative who married into our family who tried to impress us all by eating a whole garlic clove raw. It didn't work.

@ Shell - Great website. Actually I wanted the recipe for roasting garlic bulbs whole and I found it right off the bat. I hear that is a great way to serve garlic.

I think I might have to lay off the garlic for a few days though because my husband does go to work and one of my sons goes to school. I wouldn't want the people around the to ostracize them because of their smell.

 

Usually, we get through a bulb of garlic every time we roast potatoes and/or pumpkin. The garlic cloves get roasted alongside them and become extremely soft and partially caramelised. Not for everyone (although it doesn't smell anywhere near as much), but a recommendation to try, nonetheless.

Also, crushed garlic in a stew or casserole = glorious flavour. DarkStrider's suggestion is a great one; how long it lasts depends on how you keep it - in a sealed container in the fridge, it should last for several weeks at least.

 

I heard that if you put a few pieces in with the potatoes while you boil them then leave them in while you mash them it's pretty good. You may need to experiment to figure out how much to put in...

 

Garlic Oil like that will easily last and be fresh for 2-3 months in a good bottle and fridge, you can do the same trick with chillies. I find it's a great way to start the cooking process.

I tend to make chilli-garlic oil using about 12 bulbs of garlic crushed but not chopped and half a pound of Thai red, Scotch Bonnet or piri-piri chillies (including seeds) roughly chopped to a litre of oil. It can be left at this stage just to steep and use as you wish but for best results try this

1. Put everything into a large heavy-base pan
2. Bring slowly to the boil (minimum 5 minutes always aim for 10)
3. Slow simmer for a further 20-30 minutes until the garlic is soft (test this by gently pressing it with a spoon if it gives it's ready)
4. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
5a. Once cool pour into a good bottle and use.
5b. Once cool strain the oil into a bottle and throw the garlic/chillies away.
5c. Once cool strain the oil into a bottle, put the gralic and chillies into a blender and blitz until a smooth paste. The paste can be kept for 1-2 weeks in a fridge and just added to oil and onions to start any cooking dish.

It is a matter of personal choice as to which of the 5's above you use I always use C but then I love garlic and chillies.

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: Obviously when bringing the oil to a boil and simmering it you must be careful not to allow it to over heat and catch fire, slow and steady is definitely the way to go.

[ October 20, 2005, 10:55: Message edited by: DarkStrider ]

 

@DarkStrider and Dragonfly: DON'T DO IT! I don't have a citation at the tips of my fingers for you, but there's potentially a toxin in raw garlic - a botulinum, I think - that festers under anaerobic conditions. If you want to flavor oil with garlic, you're best off heating them together. I've heard this from a number of reputable sources, I just can't lay my hands on them immediately. I'll see what I can find out and post it later.

As for recipes, how about 40 cloves and a chicken ? That should make a dent in your stash! Roasted garlic is a wonderful thing - you can spread it on bread, or even better - beat it into mashed potatoes! Yummm, I think I know what's going to be served alongside those steaks I'm defrosting...

EDIT: Found this

 

@Rallymana I do cook it for myself have a look at my recipe, as for the botulism risk

Garlic does not conatin the bacterium (Clostridii Botulinium) itself but its sulphurous nature is a breeding ground for the bug once opened.

Garlic Central has more information on the stinking rose