Oil-Poached-Garlic Puree and Roasted-Garlic Oil

Submitted by kitty.rock

"This process for preparing garlic yields two culinary treasures; a rich-tasting puree that can be enjoyed on it's own or used as a cooking ingredient as well as an infused oil. Serving size is indicated in the directions for both puree and infused oil. From the book "EatingWell in Season" and posted for ZWT5."

 

• Ready In: 2hrs 45mins
• Ingredients: 4
• Yields: 2 cups oil
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• 4 large heads of garlic, cloves separated, unpeeled
• 4 cups water
• 1 1⁄2 cups canola oil
• 1⁄2 cup extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

directions

1. Bring 4 cups of water to boil in a medium saucepan.
2. Remove from the heat, add the separated but unpeeled cloves of 4 heads of garlic, stir to submerge the cloves, cover and let sit until the garlic skins are softened and cool enough to handle, about 50 minutes.
3. Strain the garlic, discarding the water, remove the skins and cut off the hard nub where the clove was attached to the head.
4. Place the garlic, canola oil and EVOO in a medium saucepan; bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat.
5. Reduce the heat to low and maintain a very gentle simmer (it may be necessary to slide the pan to the edge of the burner). Simmer until the cloves are golden and very soft when pressed with a fork, 40 to 50 minutes. Let cool for 30 minutes.
6. Transfer the cooled garlic to a sieve to drain, reserving the oil. Transfer the garlic to a food processor and puree until smooth, scraping down the sides occasionally. Store the puree and the oil separately in the refrigerator.
7. NOTE: makes 1/2 to 2/3 cup puree (depending on the size of the garlic) and 2 cups garlic-infused oil.

Reviews

[Realtor by day, Chef by night]

This is awesome! My whole house smells good and garlicky. I used both the puree and the oil in a salad dressing and am planning on using the rest of the puree on garlic bread. I will be making this again and can't wait to experiment with these 2 in other recipes! The only change I made was that I used all olive oil. The tip about pulling the pan off the side of the burner part way worked really well. I was careful to keep this just simmering since olive oil has a low smoke point and I didn't want to ruin the oil. I couldn't believe how easy the garlic gloves were to peel after they were in the boiling water! The skins just slipped right off and I liked that my hands didn't get that really garlicky smell like they do when you handle raw garlic. Thanks FloridaNative!