When you cook garlic, it mellows and develops a very mild flavor. Gentle cooking in oil keeps the cloves of garlic pale, moist and tender. Confited garlic cloves are lovely in pasta dishes, or mashed with beans. They also work with meats, such as chicken and pork. The oil used in the confit becomes flavored with the aroma of garlic. This is great in salad dressings or wherever you want to add garlic flavor without any additional texture.
This recipe has no measurements because I don't know how much garlic you will need for your dish.
- many large cloves of garlic
- olive oil
- thyme, about 1 sprig per head of garlic (optional)
Peel the cloves of garlic. Use all the larger sized cloves and set aside any smaller cloves for another use. The key here is to use cloves of roughly the same size. Put the garlic in a small pot, and add enough olive oil to cover the garlic. Add the thyme.
Cook over very low heat for 30-40 minutes. If the oil starts to bubble at all, it is cooking too fast and the heat must be reduced. The garlic should not take on any color, but become soft when pierced with a knife.
The garlic can be refrigerated in the oil for about a week.