The other day my husband and I decided to take the baby on her first trip to the beach. On the way we stopped at a Chinese grocery store (they have the most unique and cheapest produce!) and they had a deal on peeled garlic cloves.
One pound for two bucks! I couldn’t resist the price and grabbed a bagful. I didn’t know what I was going to do with it, but I had to buy it!
With about 4 cups of garlic cloves, there is only one thing you can do with it; make garlic confit. Confit means to “preserve” in French and it is a technique in which you cook food at a low temperature in fat, oil or water.
In this case, you cook the garlic cloves in olive oil at a low temperature (200-220 F) for about an hour, essentially poaching the cloves. The end result gives you soft, flavorful garlic cloves that add an amazing flavor to any dish.
You can add garlic confit to pizza, pasta, sauces, mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables or enjoy it spread on toast. And if you’re like my husband, you just eat them straight out of the jar.
Not only do you get garlic confit with this recipe, you get garlic olive oil! The olive oil is great to use as a dipping sauce for bread.
I personally like to drizzle it on top of ramen or soup to add more flavor to my meal. You can also toss it with some pasta and parmesan cheese for a quick agile et olio.
The garlic confit will preserve the garlic for up to two months in the refrigerator. Sterilize the jar you plan on using to store the confit by adding the jar and lid to a pot of water and bringing it to a boil.
Boil the jar for 15 minutes and the lid for 5 minutes. Dry them upside down for 5 minute and fill while the jar is still hot. You can also sterilize them by heating them in the oven at 225 F for 20 minutes.
A sterile jar is important in ensuring that your confit does not go bad.
Watch Video Recipe for Garlic Confit
If you come across a great deal like me, or just happen to have a handful of garlic bulbs, try making this confit. It’ll become the new staple pantry item in your house!
- 1 cup olive oil
- 1 cup garlic cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 dried chili pepper
- ¼ teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- ¼ tsp salt
- Heat a small saucepan on low heat. Add olive oil, garlic cloves, bay leaf, chili pepper, peppercorns, rosemary and salt. Stir and cover. Cook for 1 hour or until garlic cloves are tender and are easily pierced with a fork.Do not let them brown.
- Spoon garlic cloves into a clean, sterile glass jar and then pour olive oil on top. Let cool and refrigerate. Garlic confit will keep in refrigerator up to 2 months.