Recommend your favorite garlic recipes

November 13, 2014 11:50 AM

I'm looking for a really great garlic recipe to make for the next food day at work.

The theme is Immunity Boosting, so I'd like to make something where garlic is the main player. It needs to be something that is easy to prepare ahead of time and transport to work. I do have a crock pot. What are your favorite garlic-showcasing recipes? Thanks!

posted by iximox to Food & Drink (18 answers total)

40 clove garlic chicken
posted by Mchelly at 11:56 AM on November 13, 2014 [3 favorites]

Damn, Mchelly beat me to it.
But I will add that if you're not down for hauling your Dutch oven into the office, what I would do is roast a bunch of garlic, make a compound butter, and then make some cheesy garlic bread. Or you could do a roasted garlic aioli.
posted by Diablevert at 11:59 AM on November 13, 2014 [2 favorites]

There's a Julia Child mashed potato recipe that uses 30 cloves of garlic. I've been wanting to try it.

I also really like roasting the whole bulb. Just slice it in half through the middle and toss in the oven til it's buttery soft. Found a random recipe here.
posted by monologish at 12:01 PM on November 13, 2014

We love Heavenly Garlic Dip, although I think we usually reduce the olive oil a little bit. It's good with pita or French bread; I don't think we've ever used veggie crudités.

I'm also a huge fan of garlic cheese grits, which would probably travel just fine in your crock pot (even if you have to make it on the stove top). This isn't the exact recipe I use (mine doesn't have cream) but it's pretty close. Add hot sauce/cayenne pepper, or bring a bottle of hot sauce to splash on.
posted by dlugoczaj at 12:23 PM on November 13, 2014

Roasted Garlic & bean dip.

I will also often roast a whole head of garlic until creamy & delicious & then squeeze out the garlic onto crusty baguette slices & eat myself into garlic a food coma.

Also the 40 clove chicken is amazing.
posted by wwax at 12:24 PM on November 13, 2014 [1 favorite]

Roast elephant garlic until it's soft and mild enough to spread on bread, like butter.
posted by entropone at 12:29 PM on November 13, 2014 [1 favorite]

I like to roast a head of garlic and bake a whole brie and serve the former on top of the latter, the whole shebang drizzed in honey. With baguette!
posted by looli at 12:32 PM on November 13, 2014 [2 favorites]

I love braised garlic. You peel the cloves and brown them in butter or chicken fat until they look pretty, then add salt and wine and cover. It takes them about thirty minutes to cook, but they're soft and sweet and delicious spread on bread. You can use vermouth or sherry instead of wine, and add a little water if the pan gets dry. I make this probably three times a week.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 12:35 PM on November 13, 2014 [1 favorite]

Garlic soup! There are many variations, but this one is simple and delicious--and it contains chicken stock/broth, which also fits the theme! I like to garnish it with chopped fresh parsley. If you or your coworkers are uncomfortable with the amount of cream for whatever reason, you can use about half as much as called for in the recipe and it'll still be delicious.
posted by rhiannonstone at 1:08 PM on November 13, 2014

Ottolenghi's Caramelized Garlic Tart.

It uses 3 whole heads of garlic. It's amazing, and it's one of my go-to meals for small dinner gatherings.
posted by soleiluna at 1:22 PM on November 13, 2014 [2 favorites]

Aioli or bagna cauda with a platter of lovely steamed and raw veg.
posted by ottereroticist at 1:28 PM on November 13, 2014 [2 favorites]

If you want to go with a lower glycemic carb than potatoes, try lentils cooked with garlic. I usually add 3 to 5 cloves per cup of lentils, along with 3 or 4 bay leaves. You can use either green or red lentils, but I find that the latter has more of a mashed potato texture after cooking. I top them with salt, pepper, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. They are easy to prepare, great hot or cold, and easy to transport to work.
posted by jazzbaby at 1:44 PM on November 13, 2014

Seconding Ottolenghi's garlic tart. Sooooooo good. So garlicy.
posted by urbanlenny at 1:48 PM on November 13, 2014

Seconding the garlic soup, aigo bouido options (although soup isn't the easiest thing to pull off at a potluck).

My faaaavortie garlic-intensive recipe--soup or no soup--comes from this old cookbook that I've carried around for 15 years. It also gives you an opportunity to highlight any amazing fresh or smoked or preserved peppers you have available.

Hot lemon peel soup with roasted garlic and peppers

1 head garlic, separated into cloves
1 tbsp mild oil (I use walnut)
6 cups rich vegetable stock
1 lemon peel (rind only, as little pith as possible)
1 six inch strip of orange peel
1 big branch of basil
8 ounces of firm or extra firm tofu, drained, cut into inch strips
1 red bell pepper, roasted on the stovetop, cut into strips
3 tablespoons red chile powder (play with this ingredient! smoked paprika, Hatch chile powder, diced hungarian wax peppers, you get the idea)

Preheat over to 375 F. Coat garlic cloves with oil in a small bowl. Place on a baking dish and bake until light brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature. Squeeze them from their skins when they're cool. Mash 'em up in a mortar or food processor with the remaining oil, basil, 1/4 cup of the stock.

In a stock pot, combine the resulting puree with the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, then skim out the peels. Serve with some minced basil as a garnish and salt to taste.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 2:32 PM on November 13, 2014 [2 favorites]

There are many different ways to make garlic jelly and jam; including plain sweet varieties, as well as ones including fruit. It goes well on saltine crackers, possibly stacked with different types of cheese or sausage. Delicious.
posted by Verg at 3:45 PM on November 13, 2014

I have no recipe to offer (other than to nth, yes, roasted garlic spread on crusty bread, maybe with some goat cheese, if you like goat cheese).

BUT!

I offer up this technique for peeling Mass Quantities of garlic. If you don't have the 2 big metal bowls, a large pot + lid also work.
posted by mon-ma-tron at 6:02 PM on November 13, 2014 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Lots of delicious suggestions, thank you! Definitely some I will have to try at home, as well.
posted by iximox at 6:16 PM on November 13, 2014

Here's my favorite garlic soup. The lemon juice and Parmesan (which I grate over the top, rather than place in the bowl as per the recipe) really bumps it up a few notches.
posted by ostro at 6:38 PM on November 13, 2014 [1 favorite]