This simple recipe for preserved garlic in oil is very much a French thing and an extremely useful thing to have around the kitchen for making all sorts of dishes. It makes a great foodie gift for Christmas too, perfect for those Christmas hampers.
Now before all the Americans out there start jumping up and down about garlic in oil and botulism etc I am cooking the garlic first, cooling it and then adding it to the oil. It isn’t just chucked in there raw. The French have been making preserved garlic in oil for hundreds of years and there are still rather a lot of them about.
There is very little to this recipe, all you need is garlic, olive oil, pepper corns, pickling spice mix and sea salt. The cooking part takes approximately 2 minutes, you are just going to put the garlic cloves (peeled but whole) in water and boil for 2 minutes. Then it is just a case of letting the garlic cool completely then packing it into sterilised jars and adding your spices.
Pop on the lid and set aside in a cool cupboard for 2 months (make it now for Christmas gifting) to allow everything to come together flavour wise.
This preserved garlic in oil is easy to use, just mash the cloves and stir into mashed potatoes, slice and use in any cooking that requires garlic, slice for salads and of course use that oil for everything from salad dressings to cooking.
K x
- 300g garlic cloves
- 200ml Olive oil
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 1 tsp pickling spice
- Salt to taste
- Peel the garlic cloves and boil in salted water for 2 mins
- Remove from water, dry on kitchen paper and set aside to cool
- Sterilise small jars and fill with the garlic and add the oil and the spices
- Seal the jars and store in a dark place for 2 months before using
- The garlic will be crisp for 3 months then soften
- Use on salads, mashed potatoes, soup, pasta etc
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