Fresh Frozen chopped Garlic
and Roasted GarlicWhat a nice way to give your dish a kick, that is subtle, rich and lingering. Having fresh chopped garlic on hand, that really tastes like fresh garlic. It is wonderful when I want to make fresh garlic bread, or add it to a stir fry, or pasta dish,
it is right there handy in the freezer.Since it is frozen flat like a pancake in a zip-lock bag, I can break a as much off as I need, and replace it back in the freezer. If I am making mashed potatoes I break off a little roasted garlic, to give them that incredible flavor, that nobody knows that there is garlic in there.
The jars of fresh chopped garlic in oil, leave something to be desired. Garlic is very touchy, when you study it chemically, as Harold McGee says in his book, "On Food and Cooking", that some of the flavors that make it taste like garlic, are very unstable molecules, and are activated only when the cell walls are broken. So once the garlic is chopped we need to keep it frozen or else it will lose it's flavor.
We will talk about both fresh and roasted garlic. At the wholesale grocers you can now buy a large containers of peeled garlic cloves for about 6 to 7 dollars where I live. I take the jar and roast half of the garlic cloves, and keep the other half for fresh chopped garlic. If you can't get them, ask your grocers if they will order the garlic, from a company called Christopher Ranch. If they can't, I have included for you, how this can be done with whole garlic bulbs.
Fresh Frozen Chopped Garlic:
Take 4 cups of garlic cloves and grind in small batches in the food processor, or mince by hand. Place them in quart zip-lock bags about a cup of minced garlic per bag. Lay bags flat on a cookie sheet, label, date and freeze till firm. You can stack them, personally I keep the bags in a small airtight plastic container. You can get these shoe box containers for around $1.50 at a store like Wal-Mart.
Roasted Garlic:
Every time I roast garlic at the test kitchen, waitresses walking through will say: "What's that wonderful smell?". It is a really rich warm aroma, and makes a fabulous seasoning ingredient. It goes in my book of profound flavors. This means it has universal application with entree and side dishes, to bring out a unique pungent flavor. It is different from straight garlic. It gives a rich aftertaste to mashed potatoes that all of us never tire of at the test kitchen. and you can make a full flavored light sauce, like cream, Italian, or brown just by adding a very small amount. Remember pinches at a time, garlic can be overdone very easily.
It was a popular a few years ago to buy a little clay garlic roaster. This is a really neat invention, but it is for a special occasion when you have lots of time. Don't hesitate to try this out, but just make sure you have ample time to roast it before you start your meal or you may end up ditching it!
I roast a large batch of garlic at once, and whirl it up in the food processor, to make a puree. Then I freeze 1 Cup in small quart Zip Locks. Press flat and lay out on a cookie sheet. Freeze and then stack in a handy place in the freezer. When you need a pinch open the zip, and break off a frozen chunk and away you go. Save a few of the cloves and freeze whole. they are great on pizzas and focaccia.
If you've never played around with roasting garlic, now is definately the time! Lets discuss it some more.
To Peel Garlic:
To peel garlic, start with a 5 heads of garlic. You can buy already peeled cloves a lot of places now, and that's what I use. I am always looking to save time. If not, I bust up the heads of garlic, turn them upside down, so the root end is up, and I strike the garlic head with my hand, or a mallet would work. Then take the cloves, except the dinky ones, and simmer them in a cup of oil, in a sauce pan for about a minute or two to soften up the skin. then drain the oil, which you can use for cooking, and put the cloves in a kitchen towel and knead for a minute. The skins will for the most part slip off by them selves. Remove the rest by hand.
To Roast Garlic:
To roast garlic, I use a pie tin and set it inside a cake pan. This insulates the pie pan so direct heat doesn't burn the cloves. a low temp for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, stirring every 15 min. to keep from getting too brown. When its done the cloves will be very soft and an off white color. Discard any that get to dark. They become bitter and awful, yuk!
To Puree:
Place the cloves in a food processor. Do not overfill the processor. add a teaspoon or two, of water or olive oil, then whirl it up, to a puree. Take a little of the puree and taste it or better yet put it on a piece of fresh crusty French bread. It should taste heavenly. Roasting garlic turns the molecules into sugars that are naturally sweet. There is not the pungency of fresh garlic, just a full bodied lingering taste that is profound and makes you want more and more!
Spoon 1/2 Cup of the puree into a zip-lock and flatten like a sheet of paper. place on a sheet pan, label, date, and freeze as above for the fresh frozen garlic.
Cooking Suggestions:
Garlic mashed potatoes:
- 4 large red, gold or Peeled brown potatoes.
- Water to cover
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 t roasted garlic
- 2 T butter
- Salt and Pepper
Directions:
- Chop potatoes into large chunks.
- Simmer in water till soft.
- Drain and mash with the milk, butter, roasted garlic, salt and pepper. You will be suprised and amazed at how wonderful garlic can make mashed potatoes!
Add a pinch to sauces for:
- Roasted garlic cream sauce.
- Roasted garlic tomato sauce.
- Roasted garlic brown sauce.
Or add a little to your potato soup and make.
- Roasted garlic potato soup.
Any comments email to Stephen Block.