Tag: Condiments

Essentials

Garlic Confit

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Garlic confit is a great pantry staple and very easy to make. It can be used to flavour mashed potatoes, stirred into soup or simply spread on a piece of toasted baguette. The garlic confit can be stored in the fridge for about a month (completely submerged in the oil) and the oil can be used for other purposes, for instance dressings.

Ingredients for the garlic confit:
About 45 peeled garlic cloves (roughly equal in size)
About 500 ml rapeseed oil

Preparing the garlic confit:
Place the peeled garlic cloves in a small saucepan and add enough oil to cover them by about 2 cm. Make sure that none of the garlic cloves are poking through the oil, if necessary add more oil.
Place the saucepan over medium-low heat. If you have a gas burner use a diffuser to lower the heat. The garlic should cook very gently, look out for very small bubbles in the oil.
Cook for about 40 minutes and give the cloves a stir every 5 minutes or so. After 40 minutes pick up one of the cloves with your spoon and pierce it with a paring knife, it should be completely tender if they are done.
Remove from the heat and let the garlic cool in the oil.
Transfer to a jar and poor over the oil, make sure that the garlic confit is submerged in the oil. Refrigerate for up to one month.

Components

Shallot-Cucumber Marmalade

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shallot2This marmalade goes excellent with for instance fish cakes.
Also try it with lamb burgers.

Ingredients for the shallot-cucumber marmalade:
185g shallots
25g butter
500g water
60g white wine vinegar
100g sugar
7g salt
1 cucumber, halved lengthwise and seeded
Black Pepper

How to make the shallot-cucumber marmalade:
Cut the shallots into small dice. In a medium saucepan bring shallots, butter, water, vinegar, sugar and salt to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer until ingredients have cooked down and liquid have evaporated. Line a cake rack or tray with grease-proof paper. Spread the mixture onto the paper and chill well in the fridge.

Put the mixture into a bowl. Cut the cucumber into small dice. Fold into the chilled shallot mixture. Season with black pepper.

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Components

Garlic Puree

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This is a nice puree that works great with for instance lamb.
This will make enough for about four persons.

Ingredients for the puree:
2 bulbs of garlic
250 ml double cream
Salt
Pepper

How to make it:
Peel the garlic cloves and put them in a small saucepan. Poor cold water on top to cover the cloves. Put on the hob and bring the water to the boil, let the water boil for about one minute then drain it.
Repeat the same process two times.
After the final draining put the cooked garlic back into the same pan and pour the cream on top. Bring to the boil again and simmer for about 6 minutes or until the cream is reduced by one-third.
Blend the mixture in a blender or food processor to a smooth puree and pass the mixture through a sieve into a clean bowl. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper and set aside.