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"I bought some
Fresh Garlic from
the Brockville Farmers' Market and
when I used them
to flavour some recipes
They made those
recipes really tasty! "
Joys of Using Fresh
Garlic
The Culinary Side of
Fresh Garlic
Fresh garlic is one of my favorite herbs! If you haven't been a fan of garlic, give it a second chance.
Fresh garlic is heads up over that stuff you buy in the grocery store. It can be roasted, blanched or used raw for different levels of pungency.
Fresh garlic is available usually starting in mid July at the Brockville Farmers' Market. When it is available
it is often sold out - so come early and buy lots.
Choose heads that are firm to the touch, and do not have green growth on them. Do not refrigerate, but store in a cool, dark place.
There are different varieties of garlic and most market vendors will be able to help you with the attributes of the varieties they have for sale.
Garlic mellows with roasting or blanching. Add cloves to boiling water and blanch for 2 minutes, crush, then add to your favorite dip or spread.
Sauté thinly sliced garlic in butter or olive oil, add chopped sage and cooked green beans for a wonderful side dish.
Minced garlic can also be added to any stuffing dish.
Cut small slits in your pork or beef roast before cooking and insert half fresh cloves to season.
When making soups that call for sautéed onion, I always throw in minced garlic too. For the frugal cook, it's indispensable!
One interesting note: the elephant garlic that is popular is not a true garlic and is actually much milder than white garlic.
Here are some garlic recipes for you to try.
Storing Fresh Garlic
Store fresh garlic in an open container
(away from other foods) in a cool, dark place. Properly stored, unbroken
bulbs can be kept up to 8 weeks, though they will begin to dry out
toward the end of that time. Once broken from the bulb, individual
cloves will keep from 3 to 10 days. Garlic is usually peeled before use
in recipes.
Roasted Garlic & Bean Soup With Rosemary
Wintertime is the perfect season for thick sumptous soups and this Bean Soup flavored with roasted garlic and rosemary is a perfect candidate for the ultimate in "comfort food."
Yield: 4 servings 2 cups dried white navy beans
Water to cover (plus a pinch of baking soda if your water is "hard")
1 Tbsp canola oil
2 Tbsp butter
1 large onion, peeled & sliced thinly
2 leeks, washed & cut in slices (white part only)
1 carrot, peeled & sliced
1/2 tsp dried thyme
3 cups chicken stock
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp salt
2 heads of garlic - roasted until paste stage is reached
1 cup heavy cream (or whole milk)
Salt & pepper to taste
1 Tbsp minced fresh rosemary leaves
Garnish: fresh minced parsley and grating of whole nutmeg Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
1. Night before making soup: sort through the navy beans - removing small stones & shriveled beans - and then put in a saucepan with water to cover by 2". Let soak overnight.
2. Next day: Drain the beans, rinse and again cover with water by 1" and add the baking soda if you have hard water. Over medium-high heat, bring to a boil (watch out for foaming over), then lower heat to low and cook - uncovered - until the beans are soft, adding more water if necessary. Drain and shake gently in colander
3. Into a heavy duty stock pot, melt the butter over medium heat, adding the canola oil. When hot, but not smoking, add the onions, leeks and carrots. Cook - stirring frequently - until the onions are browned. Then add the chicken stock and beans and cook - over medium-low heat - for 30 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and let cool.
4. During Step #2, pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and roast the 2 heads of garlic (hard-neck garlic - if you can find it) in a foil packet with a tsp of olive oil poured over each head. Put into a pre-heated 350 degree oven and bake for 50 minutes. The cloves should be roasted to the point that when squeezed the garlic oozes out in paste form. Squeeze the paste out of each clove and put in with the cooled soup. Stir. then blend the soup in small batches, adding the heavy cream to make the desired thickness. Taste for salt & pepper and add. Then add the fresh rosemary leaves and re-heat gently - stirring frequently to prevent scorching. Bring it up to a simmer before serving in heated bowls.
Garnish: grating of whole nutmeg and fresh minced parsley mixed with some fresh minced rosemary leaves
Stuffed Baked Potatoes
2 large Idaho Potatoes
1 or 2 full heads (roasted garlic is mild, so if you're a garlic lover, use 2) garlic (don't peel or separate)
1/3 cup buttermilk
3 green onions, chopped
3/4 cup sour cream
3/4 grated cheese (cheddar works well)
salt & pepper to taste
Serves 2
Pre-heat oven to 375°F. Using your fingers, rub off the outer most white peel off the garlic (don't worry about leaving a lot of peel, roasted garlic peels easily once it is cooked). Place head of garlic in center of a six inch square of aluminum foil. Drizzle olive oil over the top of garlic. Wrap foil around garlic and bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven, open foil and allow to cool.
Scrub potatoes and place in the oven (you can make them at the same time as the garlic). Bake for about 1 hour or until tender when pierced with a fork. Remove potatoes from the oven.
Peel garlic by squeezing the cooled cloves into a bowl.
In a large mixing bowl, purée garlic with half the sour cream and buttermilk, using a hand blender or mixer.
Carefully cut off the top 1/4 of each of your baked potatoes. Scrape the potato flesh into the bowl with the garlic mixture , leaving the potato shells intact (you can discard the top shell after removing the flesh inside). Using your mixer, beat potatoes, garlic mixture and all remaining ingredients (reserving 1/4 cup of the grated cheese). Spoon the potato mixture back into the empty potato shells.
Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and return potatoes to the oven for about 5 minutes or until the cheese melts.
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