Description
This recipe transforms ordinary garlic into a buttery, melt-in-your-mouth delight through a gentle confit process, filling your kitchen with rich aroma and flavor. It’s a versatile and healthy preparation, perfect for enhancing meals with gourmet taste effortlessly.
Ingredients
Scale
- 4 large heads garlic, separated into cloves and peeled (approx. 60–70 cloves)
- 2 cups extra virgin olive oil (or avocado oil for milder taste)
- 1 tablespoon sweet smoked paprika
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 10 whole black peppercorns
- 0.5 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 medium lemon, for zest (garnish and flavor)
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts (garnish)
Instructions
- Prep The Garlic: Preheat your oven to 120 C (250 F). Separate and peel 4 large garlic heads, lightly smashing cloves for easier peeling. Ensure all peeled garlic cloves are completely dry.
- Combine Ingredients: In a small, oven-safe saucepan or baking dish (one that allows the garlic to be mostly submerged in oil), combine the peeled garlic cloves, sweet smoked paprika, fresh thyme sprigs, dried bay leaves, whole black peppercorns, and fine sea salt.
- Gentle Simmer: Pour extra virgin olive oil over the ingredients, ensuring the garlic cloves are fully submerged. Place the dish in the preheated oven and confit for 1.5 to 2 hours. The garlic should become deeply golden, translucent, and incredibly tender when pierced with a fork, but not mushy.
- Cool And Garnish Prep: Carefully remove the dish from the oven and let the garlic confit cool completely to room temperature in the oil. While it cools, toast the pine nuts in a small, dry skillet over medium-low heat for 3-5 minutes until golden brown and fragrant, then transfer to a plate.
- Finish And Serve: Once the confit is cool, gently stir in the zest of half a lemon. For serving, gently warm a desired portion. Spoon the garlic cloves and oil into a small bowl, then scatter toasted pine nuts and a few fresh thyme leaves over the top. Grate the remaining fresh lemon zest directly over the dish just before serving.
Notes
If garlic browns, the heat is too high; reduce immediately. If garlic isn’t tender, it needs more cooking time. Ensure garlic cloves are completely dry before starting to prevent cloudy oil during storage, and cool fully before jarring.
- Prep Time: 8 minutes
- Cook Time: 105 minutes
- Category: Condiment
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 tablespoon confit
- Calories: 120 calories
- Sugar: 0 g
- Sodium: 50 mg
- Fat: 14 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 1 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 0 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: garlic confit, easy recipe, healthy, meal prep, flavor enhancer, Mediterranean, olive oil, baking, versatile, gourmet