Garlic confit

As readers of this blog know, I adore garlic. Roasted garlic is a favorite of mine, but it can be a hassle with the cloves getting stuck in the paper and making a sticky mess. My local Asian grocery store sells quart-sized containers of pre-peeled garlic cloves, which inspired me to make something even better than roasted garlic: garlic confit. To confit something means to slowly cook it in oil. Doing this with garlic not only gently cooks the cloves but also infuses the oil with a wonderful flavor. 

Here’s an incredibly easy way to make a lot of delicious, spreadable garlic. Start by filling a ramekin with peeled garlic cloves and cover them about 2/3rd of the way with olive oil. Sprinkle some salt and herbs if desired. Cover the ramekin with foil and bake it in your toaster oven or air fryer at 275 degrees for about an hour. It's done when the garlic is tender and golden.  Using a toaster oven or air fryer is energy-efficient and won't heat up your kitchen like a large oven would. If you don't have one of these small appliances, you might want to make your confit in a slow cooker instead.

This concoction is incredibly versatile. I like to mash the cloves into a paste for garlic bread or drop a few into dishes I’m already cooking like pasta, rice, stew, beans, grits/polenta, mashed potatoes, etc. Plus, you end up with delicious garlic-infused oil that you can use for cooking, making salad dressings, or for dipping bread or pizza. The cloves also make an excellent pizza topping.

Once cooked, this dish can stay in the fridge for a couple of days. For longer storage, freeze it—which is what I do. I freeze small baggies or flat trays of individual garlic cloves and a little bowl of olive oil for later use.