Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Make-Ahead Garlic Sauce



From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I love garlic. It's unique sweetness appeals to me and I use it a great deal in my cooking. My children joke that they have to hide the garlic when I'm making cookies for fear I work a clove or two into the chocolate chips. That being said, I do have a line I won't cross. I suspect I'm one of a handful of serious cooks who actively dislike the French bistro chicken that's made with 40 cloves of garlic. I find it way too sharp to be enjoyable and have learned from repeated attempts to make it, that garlic used in large quantities must be blanched before cooking. The garlic sauce I'm featuring today was developed by Wolfgang Puck and I view it as a gift from the kitchen gods. Our meals are still on the bland side and until the Silver Fox has regained his appetite and can eat more flavorful food, I'm using the sauce to mask the blandness on my plate. The sauce really perks up mildly seasoned versions of chicken, pork and shrimp and makes them palatable. It's a lovely sauce to have on hand, but despite the use of roasted garlic it borders on a bitter sharpness. Fortunately, the first time I made the sauce I remembered that some of the bitterness can be alleviated by blanching the cloves before using them. It really helps here and it's worth the bit of extra time it takes to accomplish the task. To blanch the garlic, you'll need a pot of boiling water and a bowl of ice water. Dump the cloves into boiling water for 30 seconds and then into ice water for the same amount of time. Repeat the procedure one more time, then pat the garlic dry and continue with the recipe. The sauce is a bright green when it's first made but it darkens as it sits and will end up khaki colored. It will keep in the refrigerator for about a week. This is not a sauce for folks who like mild food, but those of you who like a bit of added flavor will really enjoy it. Here's the recipe.

Make-Ahead Garlic Sauce
...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Wolfgang Puck

Ingredients:
6 ounces garlic gloves, peeled (about 1-1/2 heads)
1-1/2 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil
2-1/2 cups chicken broth
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
1-1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano leaves
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Instructions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Blanch garlic cloves in boiling water.
2) In small ovenproof pan, toss garlic cloves in the olive oil to coat well. Roast until garlic is an even light golden brown, about 15 minutes.
3) Transfer garlic to a blender, pour in stock, and season lightly with salt and pepper. Process until smooth. Add chopped herbs and butter and continue to process until smooth. Transfer to a container and allow to cool. If made early in day refrigerate, covered, until needed. When ready to serve, reheat the sauce over low heat. Yield: 2 cups.








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28 comments :

Chiara said...

Most of ingredients I usually have on hand, thanks for sharing! have a good day, blessings...

mia xara said...

Love it,Mary!!! The flavor must be amazing!!Can't way to try it!XO

Jane said...

You had me at garlic - lol! I love garlic too --- the smell or something! This sauce sounds so good, and I love the green color from the herbs!

Katarina said...

I use garlic in my cooking and this sauce sounds delicious!

Epicurea said...

my husband is going to love this! i guess you could also add some ramps to keep the green color and for a softer garlic-flavor?

GLENDA CHILDERS said...

My family loves garlic and I always love ... make ahead.

Have you both recovered from your husband's hospital stay?

Kim said...

Like this super garlicky sauce!

Blond Duck said...

I'm still all over the PB bars!

From the Kitchen said...

lovely! our local farmer grow nice garlic and i;d love to find a way to preserve it for winter. i wonder if your sauce might freeze well in small amounts.

best,
bonnie

Unknown said...

This sauce sounds wonderful, Mary! I never thought to blanch the garlic to help with the bite. Fantastic tip!

Susan Lindquist said...

I, too, am a real garlic fiend, and I agree with you that garlic , when not roasted or given a quick blanching can be bitter ... but I do love the chicken with 40 cloves.

Now THIS sauce looks so interesting! having just come off f a stint making aioli, this may be my next project!

Thanks!

Judy@SavoringToday said...

Did someone say "garlic"? Oh yes, please, I'll have garlic sauce with that. Whenever I review a savory recipe, it seems there is always room for more garlic. ;) This sauce sounds divine.

Unknown said...

This sounds like it would be wonderful to have on hand at all times- thanks for the tip about blanching the garlic. I roast garlic often but have never tried blanching.

Claudia said...

The 40 cloves of garlic never worked for me either - but I have never blanched garlic so this is a grand idea. I like that people can use it according to their own appetite.

Rita said...

Like you garlic is a big part of my cooking. I didn't know about blanching of of this recipe; thank you for sharing.Happy to hear your guy is feeling better.
Rita

Suzie said...

Another one I must bookmark! This sauce sounds terrific. I'm a garlic lover too.

Ola said...

it looks so simple and so delicious that I have to do this - specially that I have all of those ingredients in my kitchen almost always :) greetings!

June said...

Oh, I can't wait to make this. We'll love it and I'm with you on the 40 cloves chicken too. By the time it's cooked so the garlic is palatable, the chicken's a cinder. Have never liked it even though we'd eat raw garlic sandwiches if we could. LOL

Dining Alone said...

I love garlic so much also, I use it in and on almost everything I cook. This sauce looks fresh and tasty.

Angie's Recipes said...

With some homemade bread, this is a perfect weekend meal.

pam said...

This sounds like a great sauce to master...so useful!

Ginny Hartzler said...

This is pretty, I have never heard of this kind of sauce. But I have gotten very distracted going back through your potato potatoes, and ended up printing out the roasted ones for a crowd, I will cut it in half. YUM.

Shug said...

I know my Mother-in-law would love this....she is crazy about garlic. The good thing about this recipe is that most people have all these ingredients at all times...
Good one!
shug

Juliana said...

This garlic sauce is sure great to have handy...thanks for sharing the recipe Mary and hope you are having a nice week :)

Big Dude said...

As big garlic fans, sounds like something to keep on hand.

Joanne said...

I'm all about bold flavors, especially when they involve garlic. I bet this would make for a great salad dressing!

Banana Wonder said...

This would be good just with some curly sauce cuddling pasta! Vampires beware!

Veronica Miller said...

This is a happy-making recipe for me. Luuuurve garlic so I love the idea of slathering it's fabulosity all over everything! lol

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