This little knuckle of a shoot sure throws a good punch. Historically considered a powerful vampire repellent, its strong flavour and aroma characteristics somewhat resemble that of its older sister, the stout and sturdy onion. I often use this little family in most of my savoury recipes and what I love is the versatility in flavour, texture and colour that garlic demonstrates in its cooked form.

When garlic is nicely roasted, it is transformed from this hard, little, pungent-smelling of a thing to a wonderfully fragrant, sticky, soft beauty. When sweated in a pan, it becomes a hump of mush, but this is the perfect match for a dish such as the infamous curry as you want it more for flavour rather than texture. When pan fried as slices in some hot oil, it begins to caramelise and change the colour of its coat from milk-white to glossy brown. The longer it is left in the heat, the crispier it becomes. It’s so flexible and I think it doesn’t get the credit it deserves. So today, garlic will be the star of the show- now that we know what it’s capable of.

So which show-stopping dishes will it be starring in?

Garlic and rosemary tart; Garlic and herb cashew cheese; Sweet and salty lace biscuits; Garlic and basil milk jelly; Porcini and garlic glaze

Garlic and rosemary tart

Ok, so technically speaking, this is more like a cheesecake, but I had some seeded crackers leftover from a stash I made last week and I hate binning food (or anything for that matter) so I had two options for this rock-hard batch: soak them in milk and then bake them for a bready base or blitz them and combine the crumbs with some fat to make a firm, but crumbly base. I definitely was not in a bread mood, so crumbs it was.

So, blitz crackers, enough to give you 150g worth of crumbs and heat with 65ml rapeseed oil until each individual crumb sticks to the next as a result of evenly distributed fat. Press this biscuit mixture into a tin- I really was determined to make a tart so I shaped the crumbs so form an edge as though it were a tart and leave aside in the refrigerator.
In the mean time, wash 2-4 bulbs of garlic (depending on how much you love the stuff! ) and throw into a roasting dish drizzled with oil. Roast at 200C for 25-30 minutes.

For the bulk of the filling, steam 2 large peeled and chopped sweet potatoes. Once soft and smushy, throw in a tad milk, salt, pepper and rosemary and mash to a smooth paste. Spoon the mashed potato into the already-prepared biscuit base and leave aside.

When the garlic has roasted, it should be soft, but still firm enough to retain its shape when removed from its think-skinned exterior. I used 1 bulb for this recipe, but you can less or more. Lightly pan fry the cloves in some rapeseed oil until they begin to caramelise and become more tanned in colour. The cloves can then be carefully placed into the potato filling and the remaining oil from the pan can be brushed on top of the filling. Leave in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours to allow it to set.

As a component to this dish I cut out a round from the tart for aesthetic purposes.

Garlic and herb cashew cheese

For my basic and simple cashew cheese recipe, please refer to my spinach and basil cheesecake:
https://steemit.com/vegan/@foodflaneur/spinach-and-basil-cheesecake-with-a-quinoa-and-black-sesame-crumb

How it will be amended for this recipe is with the addition of a roasted garlic paste and a selection of herbs. The herbs can be dried or fresh, whatever you have in your kitchen. You can add as much or as little of either ingredient to your cheese. To the quantity of cheese I made from the above recipe, I added 4 cloves of pureed roast garlic, 1 tsp dried rosemary and a handful of fresh basil.

Sweet and salty lace biscuits

These wonderfully, delicate, woven-looking treats are so light and fragile that they’re just asking to be broken- by one’s mouth of course! Such a delight to look at and something to be proud of when you have friends over for tea, but nobody has to know how simple they are to make. This was the first time I made them and I looked at numerous recipes and reviews online, with the view that these MOFOs never turned out quite right the first time, which concerned me since I was a lace biscuit-virgin-cook.

The mixture needs to be boiled- who ever thought about boiling a cookie mixture?! Some sadistic chef evidently! Anyway, I took my chances…

Use 50g of each ingredient: ground almonds, plain flour, sugar, butter (I used a vegan version) plus 2 tbsp honey. In a pan, heat the sugar, butter and honey until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil then immediately remove from the heat. Stir in the almonds and flour and mix to attain a smooth batter. This will harden as it cools, but that doesn’t matter.

Place 1 tsp of the batter on to a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper, ensuring that each has at least 3 inches of space around its periphery. Bake at 180C for 7-10 minutes and remove the tray from the oven.

The biscuits will still be bubbling and soft, but as soon as they being to harden, remove with a spatula. At this point they will begin to harden at a faster rate so work quickly if you want to mould them into various shapes. To do this, while they are still warm and malleable, carefully wrap them around the stems and handles of various kitchen utensils- I used the end of a whisk and a spice bottle! Leave wrapped around until hard and then remove. Store in an airtight container once fully cooled and store at room temperature.

Now for the salty bit- since its garlic week, of course it had to be none another than that trusty bottle of garlic salt. Generously dust each cookie with this flavoursome salt once the cookies are cool.

Garlic and basil milk jelly

This is a strange one and I have to admit I stole the recipe and amended it slightly- from my grandad! The health fanatic yogi who could still cross his legs over his neck and stand on his head for a limitless amount of time in his 80s was famously known amongst all family members for his strange eating habits.
My grandad was a man who had no care for taste, but rather the health benefits that he could gain from what mother nature has granted us in the form of everything edible. His commonly consumed breakfast was a bowl of porridge, topped generously with…cod liver oil!

His tea time beverage was no ordinary tea, it was generally a pint of milk…boiled and infused with a bulb- yes a bulb (not a clove!)- of garlic. You wouldn’t even have to be at his house to know he was making this drink, I think everyone in the neighbourhood could probably detect it! I remember once trying a sip, expecting a harsh, bitter and sharp taste, but surprisingly, the temperature and the creaminess of the milk did a good job at masking these horrid garlic characteristics and actually made it more pleasant-tasting.

Admittedly, I wouldn’t choose this drink if it was on a menu (in fact never- probably because I will never actually see it on any menu and secondly, because it is just too weird!), BUT I think as an accompaniment to a garlic tart and in the form of the jelly, I think it would compliment the flavours and textures so I’ll give it a go. My grandad would have been so proud!

I chose to infuse it with some fresh basil leaves so as not to freak people out too much about the fact that they would be eating just garlic milk, plus anything tastes good with basil!

Heat 350ml milk with ½ tsp agar, 3 bulbs of garlic (a little more subtle than my grandad’s version!) and a small handful of fresh basil. When the agar powder has dissolved, remove from the heat and pour into moulds whilst straining through a sieve to remove the solids. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to allow the gel to solidify.

Porcini and garlic glaze

This I must say is my new favourite sauce (not to blow my own trumpet and all)! I was actually looking to make a syrupy, dark, almost black glaze, to contrast well with the colours on the plate. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find anything online or even in the back of my mind that would compliment the flavours on the plate. And then I had a lightbulb moment- dried mushroom powder! I read a recipe once, created by some guy who loved mushrooms and he just made a powder and used it as a coating. The flavour must have been so intense and garlic as we know, is coupled so well with mushrooms so it would be like a rave in your mouth!

How to make it into a sauce? Well sugar of course to turn it into a sticky glaze, but how to make it intensely black? Soy sauce!

With no idea whatsoever about how it would taste, I caramelised 1 tbsp sugar with 50ml soy sauce and 50ml water. I then added 1 tsp pureed garlic and 2 tbsp of ground dried porcini mushrooms. When the mixture had thickened to a satisfactory viscosity, I removed from the heat and had a little finger dip and omg, I will always keep a jar in my fridge for those finger food days! Not sure how long it will last, but I’ll let you know as soon as I do!