Roasted Garlic Spread--Another Flavor from Italy

A spread made form roasted garlic features in many culinary books or TV programs. The idea of this spread comes from Italian tradition and there are different methods of making it. There is even a special clay dish designed to bake garlic in it.

Since I am one to those persons for whom too much garlic is never too much, I have always been very keen on trying roasted garlic recipes.

I know from cooking a lot with garlic that, although very strong and aromatic when raw, cooked or roasted garlic can be rather mild in taste. I make a veal dish that calls for 40 garlic cloves and they just add a delicate flavor without killing the taste of the meat.

This summer when I bought a bag of beautiful and large garlic heads I finally decided to make this roasted garlic spread. I served it to my guests on which I always try my experiments and that easy dish earned many compliments, particularly from my vegetarian and vegan friends. I serve it with a warm ficelle or ciabatta bread. It tastes even better with a glass of red wine. So far, no one resisted it. Since a couple of friends already asked for this recipe I share it today.

Roasted Garlic Spread

Ingredients:
4 large garlic heads(the bigger the better),
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil,
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary,
2 sprigs of fresh thyme,
1/2 tsp sea salt,
1/4 tsp black pepper.

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Cut a thin layer off the tops of the garlic heads, so that the tips of the cloves are visible, and place them in a small oven-proof dish.
3. Sprinkle the garlic heads with salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil. Put herb sprigs on top.
4. Cover the dish with a double layer of aluminium foil and roast the garlic for about one to one and half hour.

5. When garlic cools down a bit, squeeze the cloves out of the heads to the small bowl and mash well with a fork to make a smooth spread. If the spread is too thick add the olive oil remaining from roasting.

6. Drizzle gently on top with extra sea salt and serve with white breads.

Shrimps in Garlic Oil--to Eat or Not to Eat

This dish is one of the first ones I made when I started this blog. I was not sure at that time what to post, so I cooked almost everything that came to mind. And I did this one even though I am not a big fan of shrimps. I cooked it, tried, and wrote down the proportions, hoping that someone may enjoy it. Good shrimps and scallops are very popular among the seafood lovers.

This recipe has been awaiting its turn for almost a year and since I have been recently very busy with finishing my new deck and outdoor kitchen and, ironically, I have been cooking less than usual, I decided to post this recipe now. It is another very easy dish that is ready in three minutes. I post it also because I like these pictures of the shrimps, perhaps more than I like to eat them.

Besides the good quality and fresh shrimps this dish is based on a very high quality olive oil, with a lot of garlic and piri piri that I had trouble to buy, so replaced it with chili peppers. Those who like shrimps and tried them prepared this way liked this dish very much. And half of the pleasure eating that dish comes from soaking a piece of baguette in the leftover oil and enjoying it with a glass of Spanish red wine.

Spicy Shrimps in Garlic

Ingredients:
1 lb raw jumbo shrimps without shells,
1/2 head of garlic,
juice from half a lemon,
1 cup of extra virgin olive oil,
a couple of dried chili papers, or more depending on how spicy you want it to be.

Preparation:
1. Peel off garlic, squeeze lightly with a knife and chop. It is important not to crush it entirely but to chop it thoroughly.
2. Heat the oil, add garlic, and fry for 2-3 minutes, until it becomes gold.
3. Add lemon juice and chili peppers.
4. Add the shrimps, stir them in oil, and cook for 2 minutes until they turn pink.
5. Put the dish on a serving plate and serve with a fresh baguette.

Lentil and Garlic Salad--from Lunch to Grill Party

I am not a big fan of social marathons. I like going out, seeing people, invite and be invited, but I can easily feel overwhelmed doing that too many times in a row. Funny enough, it often happens that way, as people get excited and socially active around the same occasions and holidays. That is what happens now, when people have returned from vacation to DC and want to meet friends after a couple months of the summer break, but cannot meet them all at the same time. As a result, I have on my schedule a picnic on Friday, grill on Saturday, and people coming over on Monday.

For today's grill I have offered to make a salad to accompany the delicious meats that the hosts will grill for us. Again a very easy one. I ate it first many years ago in Switzerland, and I make it quite often. It is very helpful to serve it at grill events, when we mostly serve meats, but also happen to have vegetarians among guests. Lentil is a plant that is third richest in protein, and also one of the best sources of iron, and therefore it can be a nutritious meal in itself especially when served with other vegetables. This lentil salad can also be served as a great lunch dish, just with fresh bread, and with or without cold cuts.

Lentil and Garlic Salad
(Six to eight servings)

Ingredients:
3 cups of cooked lentil (canned lentil would be just fine--you would need two 15.5 oz cans),
2 pint boxes or 1 lb of cherry tomatoes,
1 bunch of dill--you will need about 1/2 cup of chopped dill,
2 cloves of garlic,
1/2 lb of Ricotta Salata cheese,
1 lemon,
3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil,
Pepper to taste.

Preparation:
1. If you use canned lentil, drain it, wash in cold water, drain again and place in a large bowl.
2. Cut tomatoes in half if they are of the larger variety, or leave them whole if they are very small, and add to the lentil.
3. Chop dill and add to the bowl.
4. Cut the cheese into very small cubes, mix it with all the ingredients.
5. Squeeze garlic into the salad.
6. Add pepper (no salt as Ricotta Salata is very salty already).
7. Add oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice, mix carefully and serve.

It is important to have all the ingredients cut into small pieces, as the salad prepared this way tastes better. I tried recently to make this salad in Poland--where Ricotta Salata is not widely available--with Feta cheese but this did not work because Feta is much more wet and soft than Ricotta Salata.

Cauliflower from my Hometown

Whenever I visit the farmers market in my hometown, I am overwhelmed by the great number of stands selling fruits and vegetables. I have to admit that I have never seen anything as impressive in the US and only the open-air market hosted by Geneva's Plaine de Plainpalais was comparable to this one, which is located in a relatively small provincial city in Poland.

All the products sold are very fresh and most of them, including eggs, are genuinely organic. Although you can find there only about four kinds of lettuce, I am sure that there are not many places in the world, maybe with the exception of Italy or Spain, where you can find so many--probably around twenty--different kinds of tomatoes. And they all are wonderfully ripe and tasty. There is also an enormous variety of potatoes, and many different types of cucumbers and peppers. Green beans are green only in their name as they come in various colors, from purple to white, and in many shapes and sizes.

Behind each stand there are mountains of cabbage and of course cauliflowers--large snow white curds, which are very fresh and aromatic in an earthy sort of way. Without any hesitation I have chosen the biggest cauliflower curd (in Poland we always say "cauliflower head" though) I could find for today's dinner and I will prepare it in a traditional Polish way with buttery, crispy bread crumbs, and I will serve it accompanied by a tomato salad. But can anyone else anywhere in the world get excited like me about a cauliflower cooked in such a simple way? True, a simple cauliflower tastes really great only when it had been grown locally in a good soil, with the right amount of water and sun, and was harvested in the morning of the very same day it was sold at the market.

Probably this is the reason why I do not cook it as often anymore in my American home, and if I do, I typically serve it in béchamel sauce or baked with garlic, since both methods can make even a supermarket cauliflower taste rich and interesting.

Cauliflower Pie

Ingredients:
1 cauliflower,
1 egg,
3 cloves of garlic,
1 tbsp of sour cream,
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese,
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg,
1 tbsp chopped parsley,
salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Divide cauliflower into smaller pieces and cook in salted water until almost soft.
3. Mix the whole egg, cream, and Parmesan cheese together.
4. Cool slightly the pieces of cooked cauliflower and, using food processor, break them into smaller rice-like pieces.
5. Add to the cauliflower the egg mixture, add chopped parsley and crushed garlic, and mix well.
6. Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
7. Put cauliflower in a buttered oven-proof dish and bake for 35–45 minutes, or until the it turns slightly gold at the top.

Cauliflower prepared this way can be served as a self-standing, vegetarian dish and will taste even better with a tomato salad. It can also accompany any meat or fish. If enriched by adding chopped, smoked ham, it turns into a very rich meal in itself. It is not very photogenic but it tastes better than it looks!

Baked Feta from Alzace

I got this recipe last winter from a friend of mine, who got it from her family living in Alsace. That is how recipes travel around the world. The moment I heard about this dish I knew it would be one of my favorites. I made some modifications to it, since the original recipe was too generous with oil, but still please do not be surprised with its amount, as feta during baking also releases its own fat. You are supposed to dip a piece of bread in the oil and eat it together with feta.

It is a simple, delicious accompaniment to a glass of red wine, as an aperitif or a dinner appetizer.

I also added extra spices that are worth trying. Instead of herbs I put sometimes just sesame seeds and always a sprinkle of chili flakes and pepper.

It is another recipe that I share because many people after trying it, ask me how to prepare it. I make it in a big oven-proof dish and serve on small aperitif plates, or bake it in small ramekins, and serve directly from them.



Feta baked with herbs
Serves 6-8 people.

Ingredients:
1 pound Feta cheese,
1 tbsp Herbs de Provence, but just oregano or sesame seeds will do as well,
12 garlic cloves,
1 tsp chili pepper flakes,
freshly ground pepper,
1 cup good quality Extra Virgin olive oil.

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Cut feta in slices about 1/4 inch thick and spread them in an oven proof dish or put them in small dishes or ramekins, if used.
3. Put garlic cloves around feta slices.
4. Sprinkle it with herbs and, lightly, with chili flakes and pepper.
5. Pour olive oil on feta; it should cover it almost entirely.
6. Bake until feta is gold and garlic soft which should take about 25-30 minutes.
7. Serve warm with a baguette, any white bread, or Middle Eastern bread.



It was a hit during the World Cup final!