feature image photo by LauriPatterson via Getty Images
Garlic is a year-round staple ingredient in my kitchen. If my fiancee says “that smells good” from the adjacent room while I’m cooking, nine times out of ten it’s probably because I’ve just added chopped onions and garlic to melted butter or hot olive oil. But there’s something especially autumnal about ultra garlicky recipes, especially when they focus on the bold but velvety flavors of roasted garlic. So it seems like the perfect time to showcase recipes that don’t just use garlic as a supporting ingredient but as the star. I recently bought a giant jar of a combination garlic and ginger paste from the Indian market, and it’s going to save me loads of time when it comes to a lot of my go-to recipes. But here, we’ll focus on recipes that call for a ton of garlic and usually in roasted form. First, I wanted to share my top three favorite ways to prepare and consume garlic.
Whole Roasted Garlic
I feel like I roast an entire head of garlic at least once a week. Nothing smells better to me. All you have to do is lop off the tippy top of the garlic head so that the flattened tops of the individual cloves are exposed. Pour a generous glug of olive oil in all the nooks and crannies of those connected cloves, wrap the head up in tin foil, and put it in the oven at 400 degrees for about 30-40 minutes or until the garlic cloves are soft and light brown.
Take it out of the oven and let it cool to the point you can comfortably touch it. Squeeze out the roasted garlic and use a fork if you need a little assistance. You can spread it directly on some toast or a cracker with a sprinkle of salt and call it a day. Or you can drizzle some balsamic on top as well. Or you can put it in a small bowl with some room temp butter and mask it into a garlicky butter spread and use it for garlic bread or as an accompaniment to anchovies and crackers.
Garlic Chips
I recently got my dad hooked on these. You just add some olive oil to a pan, heat it, and thinly slice garlic into little chips that you then add to the hot oil and fry. It only takes a couple minutes. You can flip them if you want, but if you’ve added enough oil you shouldn’t have to. Take them out when they’re still light brown. You’ll start to smell right away if you’re burning them. Place them on a paper towel-lined plate and sprinkle some salt on top. They’re great to add to soups, pastas, dips, or even as a crunchy addition a grilled cheese or other sandwich. You can keep them in a tupperware container on the counter (I’ve found they don’t hold up in the fridge) but only for about one to two days.
Garlic Tomato Confit
Garlic and tomatoes are perfect co-stars here. I love to do this with any leftover cherry tomatoes I might have laying around I need to use up before they go bad. Throw them in a baking dish with a bunch of whole garlic cloves. Add enough olive oil so it’s not completely submerged but like everything’s in a nice little bath. Add some balsamic, salt, and pepper as well. You can add fresh or dried herbs but it’s not required. You can also use a small over-safe ramekin for a mini version. Roast in the oven at 300 degrees for one to two hours, checking every once in a while to make sure the garlic isn’t burning. Add everything to a blender that can handle hot liquids or use an immersion blender to puree everything into a thick sauce, which can be used as a pasta sauce, a marinara-like dip, on roasted veggies, or slice up a log of goat cheese and throw the sauce and circles of goat cheese back in a baking dish and bake it for another 10ish minutes and dip some good bread in that cheesy tomato garlicky bad boy.
With those three simple tips out of the way, here are some of the best garlic recipes I’ve rounded up from around the internet that’ll have your kitchen smelling delicious and, sure, your breath stanking — but it’s worth it.
Garlic Soup
Creamy Lemon Garlic Butter Beans
Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Garlic Roasted Potatoes
Roasted Broccoli with Garlic
Garlic Butter Roasted Mushrooms
Creamy Roast Garlic and Lemon Pasta Sauce
Oven Toasted Garlic Herb Cheese Ravioli
Linguini with Clams and Garlic Butter Sauce
Tomato and Garlic Pasta
Sinangag
Garlic Butter Salmon
Garlic Knots
Crispy Sesame Garlic Chili Oil Noodles
Spicy Roasted Garlic Hummus Recipe
Garlicky Beef Stew
Guyanese Garlic Pork
Baked Whole Fish with Lemon Herb Garlic Butter
Caramelised Garlic Tart
Lemon Garlic Chicken
Grand Aioli
Homemade Caesar Salad Dressing
