I love my garlic press; in fact, it is probably my one true desert island gadget. But I'm happy to put it aside whenever the smell and sweet taste of slow-cooked garlic is called for.
Recipes for baked, roasted or braised garlic often come with a pre-emptive disclaimer that the quantity of garlic cited is not a typo:15 cloves with two sliced and braisedfennel bulbs; three heads ofgarlic for a kilo and a half of roasted root vegetables; six heads with today's pork fillets… How can adish handle so much of this pungent little allium?
The magic, of course, is in thecooking method, and the transformative effect of some high heat and a little oil. This breaks down the fructose chains in the bulb and converts them into something mellow and sweet. The savoury, nutty, almost meaty result never ceases to delight me.
I normally use one of two methods. You can lop off the top fifth of the head, so that the cloves appear in cross-section, then wrap itin tin foil with a little olive oil andcook in a hot oven for about anhour. Remove and gently squeezeout the soft, sweet cloves.
From here, you've got a free pass into aworld of purées, spreads, dressings and mayonnaises, all characterised by amellow smoothness that makes them receptive to being spread on toast with something salty such as crumbled feta or chopped anchovies. This method is also fantastically effective for vegetable mashes and stews.
The second option is to separate and peel the cloves, then blanch them in boiling water for three minutes. This inactivates the sulphide compound allicin, which isresponsible for warding off so many vampires. Once the cloves aredrained and patted dry, they can be roasted withfish or vegetables, orcaramelised in a pan with some oliveoil, vinegar, water and a little sugar, and turned into a salsa or a tart filling.
Luckily for my garlic press, I'm a loyal and faithful cook. But if I ever do find myself stranded on a garlic-growing desert island with just a match, some tin foil and a pan of water, I'm just about fickle enough to survive and cook the next meal.
Pork tenderloin with caramelised garlic and orange salsa
The rich sweetness of the caramelised garlic goes so well with the succulent yet lean pork loin. This salsa would also work well with chicken, lamb or even brussels sprouts. Serves four.
1 orange
2 tbsp dried mint
5 tbsp olive oil
Maldon sea salt and black pepper
2 pork fillets (about 850g), all sinewremoved
5-6 heads garlic, cloves separated and peeled
20g caster sugar
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 red chilli, finely chopped
10g mint leaves, shredded
1 tbsp lemon juice
Grate the zest of half the orange intoa large, non-reactive bowl. Addthe mint, two tablespoons ofolive oil, two teaspoons of salt and ateaspoon of black pepper. Mixwell, add the pork, rub the seasoned oil into the meat, cover and refrigerate for two hours.
Meanwhile, bring a pot of water toa boil, add the garlic and blanch for two minutes. Drain and repeat the blanching process once more. Dry the pan, pour in the olive oil andplace on a high heat. Fry the garlic, stirring all the time, for fourto five minutes, until it's goldenallover.
Add a tablespoon of sugar, the vinegar, 90ml water and a quarter-teaspoon of salt to the garlic pan, bring to a boil and simmer on medium heat for five minutes, or until there's hardly any liquid remaining and you're left with just the caramelised garlic cloves in a thicksyrup. Set aside to cool.
Use a vegetable peeler to shave offwide strips of the remaining orange skin, taking care not to take any of the bitter white pith with it. Cut the strips into 1mm-wide slivers, and transfer to asmall saucepan. Squeeze the juice from the orange and, if necessary, add water until you have 100ml ofliquid. Pour this over the orange skin in the pan, addthe remaining sugar and bring to a light simmer. Cook for 12-15 minutes, until the syrup is reduced by about two-thirds, and set aside tocool.
To make the salsa, stir the chilli, mint and lemon juice into the garlic pot. Lift the orange strips out of their syrup, and add to the salsa.
Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Place a large frying pan onahigh heat, add a smear of oil, thensear the pork fillets for two minutes on each side, until nicely golden brown all over. Place on atray and roast for seven to 10 minutes, oruntil pink. Remove from the oven, cover with foil and rest for four minutes (the pork will carry on cooking in the residual heat).
Meanwhile, add any cooking juicesfrom the pan to the garlic salsapot and stir. Taste, and if it seems a little dry, addsomeof the sweet orange syrup. Takecare, though: you don't want the salsa to go too sweet.
Use a very sharp knife to slice thepork fillets into 1-2cm-thick medallions, arrange these on dinner plates and spoon the salsa on the side or on top.
Roast figs with pomegranate molasses and orange zest
I can't emphasise enough just howcrucial it is to choose good, sweet, squidgy figs, no matter whatyou intend to do with them. Itreally does make all the difference. Serves four.
3 tbsp pomegranate molasses
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp dark muscovado sugar
4 thyme sprigs, 2 left whole and 2with the leaves picked
Skin of 1 orange, comprising 3 long shaved strips and the rest grated
Salt
8 fresh figs, cut in half lengthways
100g mascarpone
100g Greek yoghurt
1 tbsp icing sugar
In a large bowl, stir the pomegranate molasses, lemon juice, a tablespoon of sugar, the two whole thyme sprigs, a tablespoon of water, the three strips of orange skin and a pinch of salt. Mix until the sugar has dissolved, then stir in the figs and set aside to marinate for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk the mascarpone, yoghurt and icing sugar, until smooth, then put in thefridge to chill.
Lift the figs from their marinade and arrange snugly, cut side up, in a20cm x 20cm baking tray. Heat thegrill to high. Sprinkle the figs with the remaining sugar and grill about15cm from the heat source for10 minutes, until the sugar has caramelised and the figs softened.
Meanwhile, pour the marinade into a small saucepan, bring to a boil and simmer for two to four minutes, until reduced by half and the consistency of runny honey.
Transfer the hot figs to serving plates and spoon over any leftover syrup from the baking tray. Drizzle over the sauce reduction and sprinkle with the picked thyme leaves. Place a spoonful of the yoghurt cream on the side or on the figs, sprinkle over the remaining orange zest and serve at once.
