Garlic Confit

Garlic is such a widely-used ingredient.  It’s present in almost every cuisine around the world.  And, in my opinion, it’s just like butter; the more garlic in a dish, the better.  Simmering garlic in oil like this makes it so tender and ready for use in many dishes, especially Bistro-style, that call for confit.  You not only get tender, flavorful cooked garlic for use later on, but you also get wonderful garlic-infused oil to use on breads, etc.

The process for making garlic confit couldn’t be simpler.  It calls for a lot of peeled garlic.  Feel free to peel it yourself.  I prefer to buy fresh peeled garlic from a local Asian supermarket in a large container.

It’s an important building block in more complicated dishes, but if you just want to try some right away, here is a great simple recipe to make use of both the confit and the oil.

Garlic Confit

Ingredients

• 45 peeled garlic cloves
• 2 cups canola oil

Preparation

1. Place the garlic cloves in a saucepan and submerge them in canola oil so that it covers the cloves.
2. Place the pan over low heat, just enough to cause small bubbles rise from the cloves.  Stir every 5 minutes or so.  You should not be boiling or browning the cloves, just a gentle, even heat.  Use a diffuser or pan under the saucepan if the heat is too intense.
3. After 40 minutes or so, remove the tender cloves and store them, submerged in the oil, in the fridge.  Keeps for about a month.