Category: Garlic

--inspired by Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi   This salad is fresh, and strongly flavored from the garlic and ginger. It needs a little marinating time so start the dressing right away if you have other things to prepare.   If you don’t have a mortar and pestle chop the garlic and ginger as finely as you can and then mash them a bit with some salt on your cutting board with the side of a chef’s knife. ... Read more »

[caption id="attachment_10283" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Fava beans with mashed garlic and lemon juice.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_10284" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Fava beans with mashed garlic, lemon and orzo pasta.[/caption] Fava Beans with Pecorino and Prosciutto A classic way to prepare fava beans in Italy is to simply serve them, just tender with a young pecorino (sheep's cheese) and slices of prosciutto or salami, good bread and olive oil. The vibrant green beans, prosciutto and almost white cheese are the colors of the Italian flag and striking on a plate, not to mention delicious.   For the above preparation, remove the beans from the pods and cook them in salted, boiling water for about 4 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water for a minute and then pinch the skins off each bean. Arrange the beans, cheese and meat on a platter. Drizzle the beans with a little olive oil and a bit more sea salt. Enjoy with our without good, crusty bread.... Read more »

Give chard leaves a quick blanch and make a savory treat you’ll want to spread on/dress everything or just eat by the spoonful. You can mix chard and kale leaves here as well.   It’s a very adaptable recipe. It's wonderful, loosened a bit with warm water, tossed with boiled or roasted potatoes and/or carrots. I also use the pesto, stirred in to scrambled eggs or a savory bread pudding, as a sandwich spread, on quesadillas, as a dressing for pasta or roasted vegetables (be sure to loosen it with a little hot pasta cooking water before tossing it with pasta). You can mix it with fresh goat cheese for a lovely little crostini.   Like many of my recipes, the quantity of ingredients can be adapted to your taste and what you have on hand. This pesto keeps well in the fridge for 4-5 days so feel free to make a bigger batch if you have everything on hand.... Read more »

  --adapted from In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite by Melissa Clark   I don't love raw broccoli but this is one of the exceptions. And since this salad rests/marinates for an hour before eating it softens up a bit too. This is a perfect side dish but you could cook a pot of rice and have yourself a delightful supper or make a simple frittata (my go-to suggestion for when you’re in a hurry). You could add also some carrots or peppers to it. . . . use what you have as the dressing and technique are stellar.... Read more »

--inspired by Chef Cathy Whims (Nostrana) who I believe was inspired by cookbook author Anne Bianchi   This is one of my favorite dishes and favorite uses for (basil) pesto--it's comfort food at its best with the simplest of ingredients. There's something about the toasted, garlicky bread melting into the warm beans and pesto . . . and "bastard soup" is so named because it uses black beans, which are called fascistini in Italy in honor of what some Italians call "that black shirted bastard who brought Italy to the brink of destruction during WWII." On the positive side, it is very easy to prepare. All you need are brothy black beans, stale bread, pesto and some good olive oil.    *If you have previously cooked black beans with their broth use those and cook them down a little to thicken the bean broth.  ... Read more »

A quick, not-very-authentic version of this Japanese stir-fried noodle dish with lots of bok choy, garlic and green onions. Use additional or other vegetables, like carrots, peppers, cabbage, peas, broccoli or other leafy greens. It's a good template. You can also add diced tofu or leftover meat of any kind.  ... Read more »

Serves 4   A couple of radishes add color and a little more crunch so by all means add a couple if you have some. Wash 1 bunch bok choy well and pat dry. Cut stems and leaves into thin ribbons. Heat a tablespoon or so of oil in a large skillet or wok. Toss in a little minced regular or green garlic and a couple of pinches of red pepper flakes, salt and the bok choy and thinly sliced radishes, if using. Cook quickly over high heat, keeping the vegetables moving around for about 2 minutes. Finish with toasted sesame seeds and a little toasted sesame oil if you’d like—though a little goes a long way so taste as you go.   This is delicious with rice or other cooked grains or topped with a fried or poached egg or as a side to simply cooked fish.... Read more »

This dish is quite garlicky. Reduce if you want it milder. And you can substitute spinach, chard or turnips greens if you don't have beet greens.... Read more »

I used to be a purist about pesto, but no more. I use almonds, walnuts or hazelnuts since I rarely have pine nuts on hand. I've even used Tamari Almonds in a pinch and it's delicious. I often use Asiago Stella (an aged asiago) because it’s less expensive than Parmesan and still very good. I also use the food processor. And you can scale this up or down very easily. It keeps well in the fridge, topped off with a thin layer of good olive oil, for about a week.   And you can employ it in so many ways— as a sandwich spread; stirred into deviled eggs or a frittata; thin it out for a salad dressing . . . . A classic Genovese dish is pasta, boiled potatoes (diced small and cooked right with the pasta) and sauced with pesto. Remember to save a little bit of hot, starchy pasta cooking water to thin the pesto just a bit before tossing with the pasta. You can easily thin too much so start with just a couple of tablespoons of cooking water. If you want your pesto to be bright green and not turn brown as soon as it's tossed with pasta you can blanch the leaves for a couple of seconds, rinse in cold water, squeeze out all moisture and proceed... Read more »

  There are a couple of favorite sandwiches I make that greatly benefit from a good layer of arugula or sorrel. These aren't really recipes but just ideas for good combinations. ... Read more »

Garlic is so common it's easy to overlook. Garlic from your CSA or the farmers' market will likely be more vibrant and fragrant and less bitter than that from the grocery store. Though in late winter in our region even our lovely CSA garlic gets a bit rubbery and starts sprouting--still good to use of course but just a different animal than earlier in the season. Garlic keeps well for many months in a dry environment in a paper or cloth bag.   I add fresh garlic to most dressings and sauces and use this mashing method so that the garlic incorporates evenly into the dressing.   See the Green Garlic and Garlic Scape pages for tips and recipes for those products.   Garlic (and onions) often signal the beginning of a sauce or soup or stir fry or curry. Their mellow sweetness is released with slow cooking. Heat can quickly turn garlic bitter so avoid burning. Fresh garlic can be added at the end of cooking time to add depth of flavor to a dish, or in a salad dressing or to plain mayonnaise to make a delicious aioli.   Garlic is closely related to onions, shallots, leeks and chives, all alliums. Garlic is a very good source of vitamin C and B6 and contains calcium, phosphorous and selenium. Garlic has antibiotic qualities, is known to lower blood pressure, and is thought to be a booster of the immune system.... Read more »

The first time I made these for dinner I ate  2/3 of it by myself. This is a strong, fresh flavored dish. I make it just with Brussels sprouts or a mixture of cauliflower and Brussels sprouts or just cauliflower. You can certainly use broccoli or other roasted vegetables too. To make it vegetarian substitute 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari for the fish sauce.... Read more »