Confit Garlic

Hello HTS Community

Have you heard of confit garlic? If not, your life is going to be changed with this incredible garlic preserving method. You can eat this on a toasted slice of sourdough, add it to your sandwich, put it on a pizza, or combine with some homemade dips. You can replace normal garlic with confited one in my recipes, try Tzatziki, Basil pesto, Yogurt and Garlic dip, Hummus and Yogurt-tahini sauce.

Confit is a French technique to cook food submerged in fat at a very low heat for long time. It is mainly used as a preserving technique, and the fat used is mostly oil, butter or animal fat. Of all things I have learned to make, garlic confit is my favorite and is essentially the best we can make from garlic. Plus it is super easy. Just peel garlic cloves, submerge them in oil (I prefer olive oil, but you can use canola, avocado), add salt and herbs (thyme/rosemary/basil) and let it cook on low heat. The cloves become soft, tender, sweet and soo damn flavorful. Thats it……. Its that simple. Use the remaining garlic oil delicately by drizzling on top of soups, pizza, salads or even a dip with crusty bread.

You may choose to cook it over a stovetop or in an oven. I will put down the instructions for both methods below. Refrigerate the whole thing and use upto 2-3 weeks.

Ingredients you will need:

• Garlic- 3 full heads
• Olive oil- 1.5 cups
• Fresh herbs such as rosemary, thyme, basil, dried chili, optional
• Salt- 1/4 teaspoon

Steps:

• Start by peeling all cloves of garlic from the heads. Do not smash the cloves, gently trim the ends and peel.

Oven method

• Use an oven proof dish/bowl (I am using ramekin) and put garlic in it, with herb of your choice on top (I am using rosemary). Cover the garlic with olive oil, sprinkle salt and cover the ramekin with an aluminum sheet.
• Bake at 150 degree Celsius for 45 minutes. Check garlic, the cloves should be slightly brown, soft and tender. Leave ramekin covered until it cools down completely. Store in a jar and refrigerate.

Stovetop method

• Use a heavy bottom saucepan on the lowest heat setting possible. Put garlic, herbs olive oil and salt in the pan and cook for 30 minutes. If the oil starts to boil, remove from heat, let it cool down a little and then put back on the stove. Be careful to not burn or overcook the garlic.
• After 30 minutes check the cloves if they are soft and tender. Remove from heat, let it come to room temperature. Store in a jar and refrigerate.