Spring Purple Garlic is on sale at Fairway right now! It’s a new crop from Florida and priced at $3.99 a pound. Fresh and no green stem.
Sliced for sautéing or whole for roasting, Spring Purple Garlic is exceptional. The only other garlic that is better is local organic garlic that will be found in the open-air markets in July, August and September.
The garlic we have been buying in the stores since November has been in cold storage, old and strong. The new crop is milder, fresher, better tasting. When garlic is old it develops a green stem that is bitter and should be removed. You can see the green stem by slicing a clove in half.
Roasted Garlic
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Choose a small pot or saucepan with a tight fitting cover. Stainless steel or enamel.
- Dip the whole head of garlic in a bowl of water to which a dash of white vinegar has been added. Lift it out of the water and dry with a dishtowel.
- Using a serrated knife, slice off about ¼ of an inch off the tiptop to expose some of the garlic, i.e., the pointed end of the head of garlic.
- Add a dash of extra virgin olive oil to the bottom of the saucepan.
- Place the whole head of garlic in the saucepan.
- Rub down the garlic generously with extra virgin olive oil.
- Cover and roast for 30 minutes or until the individual cloves are soft.
- Remove from the oven.
- Remove the garlic from the pan and place on a plate and allow to cool for a few minutes.
- Squeeze the cloves to extract the roasted garlic and place on a plate. Now it is ready to use in various ways.
Roasted Garlic Puree is great on heated bread. You can add it to pasta sauces or to cooked beans. You can use it anytime a recipe calls for sautéed garlic, in which case you would just omit the sautéing and add it directly to the sauce or whatever dish you are making. Garlic, sautéed or roasted is a healthy flavor enhancer. I love welcoming in the spring culinary season with this wonderful Floridian new crop garlic.
Amy Kargauer says
Thanks for the info about purple garlic; who knew?! I’ll have to give it a try!
karen lee says
Hi Amy,
Thanks for writing.
Let me know how you like the spring garlic.
kl