In Pursuit of Garlic (15 page)

2 quarts water

10 cloves garlic

5 ounces vermicelli

1 egg, separated

1 tsp mustard, preferably Dijon

olive oil
(approximately 1 cup)

salt and pepper to taste

In a large saucepan bring the water to a boil. Crush the garlic and chop the cloves finely or put them through a garlic press. Add to the water all at once. Stir the egg white to a froth and add to water, whisking all the time. Simmer 3 minutes. Break vermicelli into short pieces, add to broth, and simmer another 3 minutes.

To make a mayonnaise, use a food processor, blender, or whisk to beat egg yolk with mustard. Add oil in a slow stream until mixture emulsifies and becomes creamy; you’ll use close to a cup. Slowly add a ladleful of warm stock to mayonnaise, then delicately fold mayonnaise into the soup. Season to taste.

“Garlic lovers, this dish is for you,” says Michael Smith, an award-winning cookbook author, Food Network host, and Prince Edward Island’s official food ambassador. “It includes garlic two different ways with two different flavors: pungent and mellow. The lentil stew is earthy, simmered with bacon and roasted garlic; then it’s finished with a sizzling last-second dose of freshly sautéed garlic.” Serve with roasted Yukon Gold potatoes.
Serves 6

40 cloves peeled garlic, 30 cut in half, 10 minced 1/4 cup olive oil 8 slices bacon, sliced crosswise into small strips

1 large onion, chopped finely

1 carrot, diced small

1 cup green or Puy lentils

4 cups chicken broth or water

one 28-ounce can diced tomatoes

1 tsp dried thyme

2 tsp vinegar, any kind

a sprinkle or two of salt and

lots of freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a small ovenproof dish, toss the garlic cloves with 2 tbsp of the oil. Roast the cloves, stirring once, until they’re golden brown, about 30 minutes. Reserve.

Meanwhile make the stew. Cook bacon until crisp in a large pot over medium-high heat. Transfer to a few folded paper towels to drain. Pour off and discard all but 1 to 2 tbsp of the bacon fat. Add onion and carrot to the pot and sauté, stirring frequently, until they’re tender, about 5 minutes. Add lentils, broth, tomatoes, and thyme and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the lentils are tender, about 40 minutes. When the roasted garlic cloves are done, stir them in.

Just before serving, stir in the bacon and vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Splash the remaining oil into a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the minced garlic and sauté, stirring occasionally until it begins to brown, 3 or 4 minutes. Pour the sizzling garlic oil with the garlic bits over the surface of the soup.

MICHAEL’S HINT: Roast the garlic cloves slowly to remove their pungency and bring out a deep aromatic flavor. The splash of vinegar adds brightness and enhances the flavors without announcing its sour presence.
(From Chef Michael Smith’s Kitchen, Penguin, 2011; used with permisssion.)

“The portobellos should almost caramelize in the pan juices so they taste rich, like steak,” said Ryan Scott, executive chef at Ryan Scott 2 Go in San Francisco, who won the 2010 Gilroy Garlic Festival’s Celebrity Showdown with this vegetarian dish. “I call it perplexed because they don’t know whether they’re meat or mushrooms.” There’s just enough garlic in the purée and crudo to enhance the earthy taste.
Serves 2

MUSHROOM PURÉE

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 tbsp unsalted butter

2 shallots, minced

1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, finely diced

1/2 pound fresh shiitake mushrooms, trimmed and finely diced

1 tsp minced fresh thyme

1/2 cup vegetable stock

1 tbsp sherry vinegar

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Heat a sauté pan over medium-high heat and add oil and butter. Sauté the shallots until translucent, about 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and thyme and cook over moderate heat until the mushroom liquid evaporates, about 10 minutes. Add stock and vinegar, bring to a boil, and simmer briskly until thick, 7 to 10 minutes. Season to taste. Carefully transfer mixture to a blender and purée until smooth but still thick. Refrigerate until ready to use.

MUSHROOM CRUDO

1/2 cup thinly sliced mushrooms

1/4 cup finely diced red onion

1 tsp finely chopped garlic

2 tbsp finely chopped green garlic

1 tbsp finely chopped parsley

1 tsp sherry vinegar

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

In a bowl combine mushrooms, onion, both kinds of garlic, parsley, and vinegar. Stream in olive oil, stirring well. Season to taste.

PORTOBELLO STEAKS

2 whole portobello mushrooms

1 cup vegetable broth

1/2 small onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp white wine

1 tsp chopped thyme

1/2 tsp chopped rosemary

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Remove stems from mushrooms (and discard or reserve for another use) and set caps aside. Pour a thin layer of the vegetable broth into a large frying pan, add onion and garlic, and cook 2 minutes over high heat. Add remaining ingredients, except mushroom caps, and turn heat to medium. Add mushrooms, cover, and cook 5 minutes. Gently flip mushrooms over and cook another 5 minutes, adding broth as needed to prevent sticking. Place mushrooms on a large plate and spoon pan juices on top.

TO ASSEMBLE: Place a swirl of Mushroom Purée on each of 2 plates. Lay a Portobello Steak on each plate and top with Mushroom Crudo.

“I use this salsa with fish, strewn over a tomato salad, or with grilled chicken,” says Lucy Waverman. “Occasionally I dot it over a pizza, too.”
Makes about 1 cup

1/3 cup coarsely chopped Italian parsley

2 tbsp capers

1 clove garlic

3 anchovy fillets

2 tbsp fresh bread crumbs

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 cup olive oil

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Place parsley, capers, garlic, anchovy fillets, and bread crumbs in food processor. Process until finely chopped. Add lemon juice and olive oil and process until just combined. Add salt and pepper to taste.

During the seventeenth century doctors and priests carried garlic to protect them from plague, which was spread by fleas. Four thieves released from prison to collect the dead went further: they wore face masks soaked in garlic, vinegar, and herbs, and they didn’t catch the disease and die, as expected. This recipe is an adaptation, without the wormwood and rue of the original.
Makes 4 cups

1/2 cinnamon stick

1 whole nutmeg

4 cloves garlic, peeled

4 whole cloves, crushed

1 sprig each rosemary, sage, mint, and lavender

4 cups red wine vinegar

Put all ingredients in a large jar and stand in a sunny window for a month. Strain and seal. Good in vinaigrettes, soups, or stews; to deglaze a pan after sautéing beef or chicken; or to chase away the bugs that cause plague.

“I favor the whole-wheat walnut bread I buy at Acme Bread in Berkeley,” says the documentary filmmaker, who released the exuberant
Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers
in 1980. “But any hearty full-grain bread will do.” You could put a slice on top and make this a full sandwich, but it looks more delicious when it’s left open face.
Serves 1

1 organically grown ‘Early Girl’ tomato, thickly sliced

1/2 avocado, sliced

1 thick slice hearty, healthy bread

1 tsp finely chopped garlic

extra-virgin olive oil

Lay the slices of tomato and avocado on the bread and sprinkle the garlic over. Drizzle with as much or as little olive oil as you like.

John Melone, son of Rudy Melone, one of the founders of the Gilroy Garlic Festival, says he became a surgeon so that he’d be good enough with a knife to cook at the festival. He made these garlicky potatoes on stage and used them as a bed for a side of smoked salmon. “I used unpeeled red potatoes and mashed them with the skins on for the color,” he says. “But I also like to use peeled Yukon Golds—they’re waxy and give a thicker, buttery texture—or russets, which are crumbly and flakier.”
Serves 8

6 to 8 medium potatoes

4 cloves garlic, peeled

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter

1/2 cup grated cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese

1/4 to 1/2 cup heavy cream

chopped green garlic, if you have it

Boil potatoes and garlic together. Drain and put back on warm element to dry off. Add butter and mash well. Add cheese while potatoes are still hot. Stir in cream until consistency is fluffy. Fold in chopped green garlic.

Mme Barthe’s favorite family supper inspired the pie competition at the Fête de l’Ail Rose in Lautrec, France. “We all adore this pie,” says her granddaughter, Pauline Danigo. “We’d eat it any time, all day, not just for supper.”
Serves 6 or 8

pâte brisée for 1-crust pie

2 ounces butter, cold and cubed

2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese

10 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced thinly

2 1/2 ounces pine nuts

4 eggs

3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp crème fraîche

Roll out pâte brisée and fit into tarte pan with removable bottom. Trim edge flush with top of scalloped edge of pan. With fingers or fork, mix butter and cheese until crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over pastry. Top with garlic slices and pine nuts.

Beat eggs and stir in crème fraîche. Pour evenly over base. Bake in 350°F oven about 40 minutes. “My grandmother says to be sure to keep checking as it cooks,” says Pauline. “The filling is thin and could easily burn.”

Yes, garlic in dessert! This yummy one from Penny Malcolm of Americus, Georgia, didn’t place in the 2010 Gilroy Garlic Festival Great Garlic Cook-Off, but it sure tastes like a winner. The roasted garlic gives it a warm and savory undertone you don’t expect to encounter in a sweet dish.
Serves 6

1/2 cup unsalted butter

two 15-ounce cans sliced pears in natural juice

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup water

6 cloves roasted garlic, puréed

2 cups self-rising flour

3 cups buttermilk

1 tsp pumpkin-pie spice

1 tsp vanilla

GARLIC-PECAN BRICKLE CREAM

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 tbsp unsalted butter

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

1 clove roasted garlic, puréed

1 1/2 cups whipping cream

1/4 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 450°F. Put butter in a 13 × 9 × 2-inch baking dish and put dish in oven to melt butter and get it hot. While butter is heating, put pears with their juice, blueberries, 1 cup of the sugar, and the 1/2 cup water in a large microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high 3 to 4 minutes until the sugar has dissolved and the liquid is hot. Add roasted garlic and stir well. In another large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, buttermilk, pumpkin-pie spice, vanilla, and remaining cup of sugar.

Remove the baking dish from the oven. The butter should be sizzling but not browned. Pour the batter evenly over the melted butter without stirring. Spoon the fruit and juices over the batter without stirring. Bake 15 minutes, then lower oven temperature to 350°F. Bake 45 minutes longer, or until the crust has risen to the top and turned golden brown.

Let cobbler cool slightly before serving to allow the juices to thicken.

GARLIC-PECAN BRICKLE CREAM: While cobbler is cooking, prepare the brickle. Cook @ cup sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat 3 to 4 minutes, until sugar has dissolved. If sugar adheres to the side of the pan, brush it down with a pastry brush dipped in a little water. Add pecans and cook, stirring often, to 300°F on a candy thermometer. Remove pan from heat and add remaining ingredients except for the whipping cream and # cup sugar; quickly pour mixture onto a piece of oiled parchment paper and allow it to cool completely. When it’s cool, chop into small pieces.

Whip the cream until frothy. Add sugar and whip until it forms stiff peaks. Fold in brickle, reserving a few pieces for garnish.

Serve cobbler warm, topped with the whipped cream mixture and garnished with a few pieces of brickle.

Garlic has been
around for so long and traveled the world so widely that it’s almost impossible to classify its numerous descendants, especially now that it’s become a vegetable of interest and growers are developing new cultivars. Nevertheless, scientists, taxonomists, and breeders are trying to pin down its lineage. Over the past twenty-five years research into the genetics of garlic has been intense and classifications have changed more than once.

Although genetics may not matter much to the home gardener, it can make interesting reading (see “Sources” for a couple of books on the subject) and will eventually have an impact on the garlic we grow and eat. The number of cultivars has been increasing every year since 1989, when Russia allowed the United States Department of Agriculture into the country to gather samples, which have subsequently entered the North American market. It’s enough to say there’s a lot more garlic out there than you know about. If you want variety in your repertoire, go to garlic fairs or consult the websites of growers who sell garlic for seeding and eating.

Today garlic is divided into two main types: hardneck (
Allium sativum
var.
ophioscorodon
), which grows a scape or flower stalk, and softneck (
A. sativum
var.
sativum
), which doesn’t. Hardneck garlic includes eight subgroups, and softneck garlic includes two subgroups (see below). These ten subgroups include dozens of cultivars; these are the named varieties we see when we buy from growers.

Just to complicate things, three of the hardneck subgroups (Asiatic, Turban, and Creole) don’t always grow a scape, and if they do it will be less woody than the scapes of most hardneck varieties; for this reason they are sometimes referred to as weakly bolting hardnecks. (“Bolting” is a term generally used to describe the premature growth of a flower stem among cool-weather plants, such as spinach and lettuce, which can run to seed early in hot weather.) Generally speaking, the softneck and weakly bolting hardneck cultivars do better in the milder climates of Canada and the United States, and true hardnecks are recommended for areas with cold winters. But be bold and experiment: garlic is a survivor and if given a chance can adapt to growing conditions anywhere except the Arctic and the deep tropics.

Here’s an arbitrary list of a few favorite cultivars, arranged under main type and subgroup. There are plenty more around. A couple of caveats: the tasting notes are subjective, gleaned from my notes and the tasting notes of others. The conditions under which garlic grows affect its taste as well as the color of the skins. Depending where you live, the cultivars mentioned here might not be available at your local fair or grower, but others just as good will be.

It’s always better to start with proven cultivars sold by growers in your area and then to branch out and try more “exotic” varieties from other parts of the country, available through catalogs. See “Sources” for a sampling of growers who sell by mail and for a listing of a few garlic festivals and fairs.

Every cook’s favorite. Excellent raw—less sulfurous, mellower, and sweeter than many other garlics. Rocamboles need cold winters to grow well and may not grow at all where winters are mild. Easy to peel, but the looser skins mean they don’t store long.

‘Brown Saxon’:
Plump, brownish cloves; strong rich flavor.

‘German Red’:
Light tan cloves with a bit of purple at the base. Hot raw; retains strong garlic taste when cooked.

‘Killarney Red’:
Might be a child of ‘German Red’ or ‘Spanish Roja’; large cloves; rich, full flavor.

‘Puslinch’
(also called ‘Ontario Giant’)
:
Robust, lively flavor.

‘Russian Red’:
Deep, sweet, full flavor. Brought to Canada by Doukhobors in late 1800s.

‘Spanish Roja’:
Large bulbs, rich, full, spicy flavor, a big favorite; mellow when cooked; needs cold winters.

Named for the striped skin, this subgroup is genetically closest to the original garlic. Some varieties still produce seed. Longer storing than Rocamboles, they also need cold winters to produce well and will grow in poor soil. Plump cloves.

‘Chesnok Red’
(also called ‘Shvelisi’):
From the Republic of Georgia. Rich yet sweet; excellent roasted or sautéed.

‘Persian Star’
(also called ‘Samarkand’):
Brought to North America from a bazaar in 1989. Rich flavor, medium bite, sweet and mellow when roasted.

Bulbs are squat, shiny, and purplish, with faint stripes and large cloves, but they’re no relation—except in the larger sense of being garlic—to Purple Stripes. In fact, DNA studies show that the Asiatics are closer to Glazed Purple Stripes than are the Purple Stripes. (I told you the study of garlic was complicated.)

‘Purple Glazer’:
Collected in the Republic of Georgia. Sweet, hot, and rich.

‘Red Rezan’:
From Russia, southeast of Moscow. Good garlic flavor on the mild side.

‘Vekak’:
A more intensely flavored cultivar; reportedly especially rich when sautéed to a golden color.

Most experts agree this is not a subgroup of Glazed Purple Stripe but another horticultural subgroup, and the name describes its dappled, striped skin. Plants are vigorous and tall with strong, dramatically curling scapes. They do well in cold climates but have been known to adapt to warmer areas, such as Texas, where one grower reported a good crop.

‘Bogatyr’:
Large, long-storing bulbs; very hot with a strong garlic taste when raw, especially when grown in southern climates, where it usually performs well. Taste remains fairly strong when cooked.

‘Metechi’:
Late maturing, long storing; produces well in regions with mild winters as well as colder ones; hot and strong.

These are statuesque plants with thick stems—more correctly called pseudostems. Bulbs are large and white, with a few large cloves. Porcelain garlic produces more allicin and thus a stronger taste than other varieties. Very cold hardy but adaptable to milder climates. Good soil is important, as is sufficient water, even just before harvest time.

‘Dan’s Russian’:
A variety developed on Salt Spring Island in British Columbia. Strong yet mellow flavor enhanced by cooking.

‘Fish Lake #3’:
A robust cultivar developed by Ontario’s Ted Maczka, with a strong, lasting garlic flavor.

‘Georgian Crystal’:
Another from the Republic of Georgia. Less biting than some Porcelains.

‘Georgian Fire’:
A hot one, also from Georgia. Flavor lingers.

‘Majestic’:
Developed in eastern Ontario. A lovely big bulb with good-sized cloves and a full garlicky taste.

‘Music’:
A strong, dependable grower brought from Italy and now seen frequently at fairs in parts of Canada. Its big cloves are hot and pungent when raw, mellow when baked, although texture isn’t as creamy as that of some other cultivars.

‘Romanian Red’:
Among the first Porcelains to arrive in North America more than a century ago. High allicin yield; pungent and hot raw with a more complex flavor when roasted.

‘Rosewood’:
From Poland. Strong, lingering flavor.

‘Susan Delafield’:
Hot; grows well in British Columbia and isn’t averse to damp conditions.

Previously considered related to the Artichoke subgroup of softnecks, Asiatics now have their own class. They grow short scapes with long, distinctive “beaks” in northern climates but may not grow scapes at all in milder areas.

‘Asian Tempest’:
A Korean garlic with large cloves. Taste is strong and hot raw, milder and fully developed when cooked. If harvested early it keeps nearly six months.

‘Pyongyang’
(also called ‘Pyong Vang’)
:
Crisp texture, hot flavor; rich and mild cooked. Stores well. Rich, reddish purple.

These are delicate-looking plants that sometimes send up a weak scape with a turban-shaped umbel. They’re early, both to sprout in spring and to mature in summer, and they should be harvested after a couple of leaves have turned brown. Not known for long storage.

‘Chinese Purple’:
Good in southern climates; ripens early yet is one of the longer-storing Turbans. Be careful of it raw—it’s very hot.

‘Thai Fire’:
Originated in Bangkok, brought to Salt Spring Island in British Columbia by Dan Jason. It sprouts early, sometimes while it’s still in storage; typically bold, hot taste.

Creoles originated in Spain, not Louisiana, although they grow well there; they also sometimes grow a scape. For a time they were lumped with Silverskins; then they were called Southern Continentals. Some people in the Southwest call them Mexican Purples, perhaps because they grow in lovely colors of red and purple. Because they have a sweet, rich taste, they’re a good crop for a southern gardener with a yen to grow Rocamboles, which need a cold winter to grow a bulb. They’re also long storing, which Rocamboles aren’t. Gardeners in more northerly but not frigid regions have successfully grown Creoles, although they produce smaller bulbs in those areas.

‘Burgundy’:
Sweet, rich, and mild, but never dull. A beautiful purple, squat bulb.

‘Creole Red’:
A popular cultivar that arrived in California in the 1980s. Has a fine, rich earthy flavor with just enough bite. Stores seven or eight months.

‘Morado de Pedronera’:
Came to the United States from Córdoba, Spain, in 1991. It has fat, full cloves and a hot, strong bite, unlike most Creoles. Much mellower roasted or sautéed.

‘Rose de Lautrec’:
The pride of Lautrec, France. A pink-skinned beauty with modest pungency. Warm, but not hot, faintly musky. Long storing.

This variety is often used commercially because it’s easy to grow and produces large bulbs with many layers of cloves, the inner ones smaller than the outer layer. ‘California Early’ and ‘California Late,’ the varieties grown in Gilroy, California, the largest producer of fresh garlic in North America, are Artichokes. It’s an adaptable plant that seldom bolts or grows a scape. Taste can be simple, without richness or depth, but many cultivars have good flavor.

‘California Early’:
Flattish in shape, adaptable to many climates, early maturing; relatively mild, simple taste.

‘California Late’:
Smaller and rounder bulbs than its sister garlic, with more cloves. Hotter in taste and longer storing than ‘Early’ and can bolt or form bulbils in the pseudostem in more northern climates.

‘Inchelium Red’:
Voted the best-tasting garlic in a 1990 test done by
Organic Gardening
magazine. Interior cloves are a good size, unlike some other Porcelains. Pleasantly mild; produces less allicin than many varieties.

‘Kettle River Giant’:
A flavorful Artichoke that stores well for six or seven months.

‘Lorz Italian’:
Brought to Washington State in the 1800s by an Italian family. Good for mild winter areas but adapts to cooler climates, where it may partially bolt. Fine, complex flavor and stores well.

‘Siciliano’:
Flavor is rich and zesty but not too hot; good raw and stores well.

Silverskin is the variety usually sold in large quantities in supermarkets because it stores well. Like Artichokes, Silverskins generally don’t bolt, or grow a scape, though they will in climates with cold winters. They’re also more apt than other varieties to produce a bulb the same year in the north if planted in early spring, probably because they don’t need a period of vernalization. They’re the latest garlics to mature and sometimes can be stored as long as a year, although long storage can make their hot, sulfurous taste stronger. The taste of cultivars varies, however, from mild to strong and acrid.

‘Locati’:
Pinkish red, from Milan. Best sautéed lightly to temper the strong taste.

‘Nootka Rose’:
From Waldron Island in Washington State. The brownish cloves streaked with pink are very handsome. Many layers of cloves, with a rich, bold, medium-hot taste.

‘Silver White’:
It seems to grow anywhere, from maritime areas to places with warm or cold winters. Deceivingly mild at first, it explodes into intense heat that lasts. Lots of small inner cloves.