seasonal "bye bye vampires" recipe corner

[leedy]

Given that many of my friends list are or have been afflicted with hideous seasonal malaises, I thought I would post the recipe for the curative broth that I made yesterday (courtesy of The Moosewood Restaurant Cooks At Home):

You'll need:

• A medium sized head of garlic, minced. Yes, that's a head, not a clove. You need about three tablespoons of minced garlic, so, y'know, adjust as necessary.
• 8 cups of stock - bring it to a simmer before using if it's, eg, from the fridge
• A couple of sprigs of thyme
• A couple of sprigs of parsley
• A sprig of sage (I did it without the sage and didn't miss it much)
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika (I've substituted a pinch of cayenne for this and it worked fine)
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• (Optional) A big pinch of saffron

Saute the garlic in the olive oil in a large pot over a lowish heat until it is golden but does not brown. Add the hot stock and bring to a simmer. Stir in the paprika/cayenne. Tie together the herbs with string into a little bunch and add the resulting bouquet to the stock. Add saffron if using. Allow the broth to simmer for about fifteen minutes (more if you want it to be EVEN MORE GARLICKY). Remove the bouquet and season to taste.

You can then do all manner of fun things with it - cook tiny pasta and peas in it, then top with grated parmesan! Pour over toast in a bowl and top with a poached egg! Add tomatoes and tortellini! Cook rice in it! Repel vampires with it! Pour it out the window on the heads of annoying neighbours! (er, maybe not the last one) It also freezes very well.

Warning: it will make your kitchen smell strongly of garlic for DAYS. But it is very good (and anti-viral!) if you're feeling poorly, and also yummy.

Comments

[sorenr.livejournal.com]

Warning: it will make your kitchen smell strongly of garlic for DAYS.

And how, pray, would that be a deviation from the standard kitchen-smell?

[leedy.livejournal.com]

It does lift it to an extra-special level, though. I mean, I use garlic in almost everything and still felt like I was being hit by a WALL of garlic when I went into the kitchen yesterday afternoon.

Try it! You'll see!

[yiskah.livejournal.com]

Oh, you mock me with your garlic! I had to go ALL THE WAY TO THE POST OFFICE to get garlic yesterday, and even then it had gone to seed! I have clearly been cursed by the garlic gods.

[felinitykat]

Your post office sells garlic? But your local Tesco doesn't?

Nottingham is crazy..

[yiskah.livejournal.com]

It is crazy! Though the local Post Office doubles as a grocery shop, so not THAT crazy.

[sorenr.livejournal.com]

*licks garlic and sticks on letter*

Opens up for all sorts of confusions, no?

[leedy.livejournal.com]

I did not mean to taunt you in your forlorn garlic wilderness!

[jeejeen.livejournal.com]

I must say, I really don't understand how there can be even a block on a street that doesn't have an overflowing garlic bin. I mean, I realise that I live a stone's throw from Little Italy, but please.

My heart, how it bleeds for you.

[felinitykat]

MMMM! I think I have seen this recipe from you before, or something like it, but it looks sooo good -- am hungry now!

[leedy.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think I posted it as a comment on somebody's journal yonks ago (possibly yours!) but I thought it was so good I should share it again.

I had the "with pasta and peas" version for lunch yesterday and it was YUM.

[daegaer.livejournal.com]

Yummmmmmm. That sounds good.

[leedy.livejournal.com]

It is! And it's incredibly garlicky without the taste being overwhelming, if you know what I mean.

[cigogne.livejournal.com]

wooow. I can almost smell the garlic wafting out of the monitor at me.

I'm definitely going to make some of that to cook pasta in. I'm on a mission to get garlic into everything I eat.

[leedy.livejournal.com]

Garlic icecream?

[jeejeen.livejournal.com]

I've had garlic chocolate cake before and it was fucking FAB-U-LOUS. It was at a restaurant called um, "Garlic's"... and they put garlic in everything.

It was a super rich flavour... really dark chocolate, so not that sweet, and garlic in the frosting. Yikes.

Sometimes, though, and this is um, TMI, when I eat tons and tons of garlic, especially if I eat like a head of roasted garlic, I have um bowel issues. It's worth it, of course, but I thought I'd put that out there.

[leedy.livejournal.com]

What is this thing you call TMI? I do not understand.

Mercifully, I seem to be able to digest vast amounts of garlic without any digestive distress. Also, I am intrigued by the chocolate garlic cake.

[pgw.livejournal.com]

Garlic RULES in our house! Thanks for posting that recipe.

[leedy.livejournal.com]

You are most welcome!