Garlic

We go through tons of this at our house...on sandwiches, cooked meats, cheese & crackers. You REALLY have to like garlic though.

Roasted Garlic and Onion Jam

3 onions, chopped roughly

3 garlic heads, roasted 

2 tbsp olive oil

4 tbsp brown sugar

6 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup water

Heat a large pan and add olive oil.  Add the onions, cover and leave to cook for 15-20 minutes, until soft. Stir occasionally to prevent onions from sticking to the bottom of the pan.Add the sugar and continue to stir occasionally until onions turn golden. Add 1/4 cup water, stir and leave to cook for 20 minutes until onions take on a darker colour.Add the remaining water, balsamic vinegar and smashed roasted garlic cloves. Cook uncovered until liquid has been absorbed.Transfer to container once cooled. Store in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. 

P.s. to roast the garlic heads, peel off most of the skin, but leave enough to hold the head together. Cut of a little from each end to expose the cloves. Cover with olive oil, wrap in foil and bake at 425 degrees for about 35 minutes. After it's roasted, you can just squish the individual cloves out with your hands.

Wow, that recipe looks awesome Leggo! Onions, garlic, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar---what's not to love?

I put garlic in almost everything I cook. You peel it, and then either slice it, mince it or put it through a garlic press.

Salad dressing: 1-2 cloves garlic, 1 bunch herbs (cilantro or parsley is nice), juice of a lemon, 1/2 cup olive oil. Spin it all in the blender.

Garlic dip: 4-5 cloves garlic into the blender with a few walnuts, a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of vinegar. Run blender till that is a paste. Add a large slice of stale, wholewheat bread, that you have soaked in water for a bit, then squeezed the water out of. Also add olive oil, spin that just to combine. Add a handful of walnuts and process a little more (walnuts should still be a bit chunky). Eat with fish, as a sandwich spread, with cut up raw veggies or however you like. I often eat it with roasted beets or with steamed greens.

But, anytime you make a sauce or stew or even just saute veggies, add a sliced up clove of garlic, or two, or three ...

Ariom, you take the stale, dry bread, soak it in cold water for 5-10 minutes, then squeeze the excess water out and put it in blender. The idea is to have it soft, but not wet. Fresh bread does not work. I tried that. I usually use a dense, wholewheat, peasant-style bread. You drizzle in olive oil, until you have a consistency you like.

However, you can also make this dip only with walnuts OR with a combo of stale bread and almonds OR with cold, baked or boiled potato (in which case, do not use any nuts and make sure not to over process, because the potato will get gummy).

The Greeks call it "skordalia" ("skordo" is garlic) and traditionally it is eaten as a condiment with salt cod and beets. We tend to eat it with all kinds of things, but it does go nicely with sturdy fish.

Ariom, most welcome. Greek food really is very good. I started a new job (volunteer) a few weeks ago in the desolate burbs. Came to work on a Tuesday and there was a farmer's market across the street, all eco/bio stuff and incredibly fresh. It is not hard to eat a healthy diet here.

I completely forgot about this until we had it tonight.

Honey-Poached Garlic Sauce for Ice Cream - serves 4-6

1 cup good-quality honey

1 cup water, plus more if needed

10 plump garlic cloves, peeled (I always use more than the recipe calls for....about 13 or so depending on size)

1 long piece lemon peel

1 6-inch stick cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer slowly until water has evaporated and garlic is tender and golden, 40-50 minutes. If water boils away before garlic has caramelized, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until garlic is golden and very soft. Remove sauce from heat and let cool. Discard lemon peel and cinnamon. If you wish, mash garlic cloves before serving. Serve garlic sauce at room temperature. Ladle over good-quality vanilla or honey ice cream.

It's also very good on yogurt.

That WOULD be some pricey ice-cream topping! Also, warning, it's an aquired taste.

Oh, the best is to just roast them and spread them on lightly buttered FRESH bread. Yum.

Here is a link on how:

http://www.food.com/recipe/how-to-roast-garlic-303...

Once you have roasted the garlic you can pull the cloves off one at a time, and just squeeze the garlic out into a bowl or directly on the bread. Spread it and enjoy! So yummy! You will love it.

Roasting it mellows the flavour and makes it kind of sweet.