Currabinny Cooks: The secret ingredient in the best garlic bread you'll ever taste
The most delicious garlic bread, made in minutes. Picture: Bríd O'Donovan
Garlic Our kitchen would be an unfamiliar place without the many bulbs and cloves of garlic sitting on countertops or hanging on hooks. Many are broken open, spilling out cloves, others are still whole, violet flecked with papery skin like wrapping paper. We like to have a few varieties at hand; So-called wet garlic, young and mild, with edible green stalks still attached. Smoked garlic, violet garlic, scapes, mono-cloves, the sticky, aged black garlic and of course a jar of homemade confit garlic. We never really worry about the abundance of garlic in our kitchen, ageing out of use, we use it too often. If there is ever a recipe where a clove or two of garlic is asked for, we will invariably have the good sense to double the amount. We suspect that garlic is quantified cautiously in recipes on behalf of more delicate palates than ours.
We understand, of course, that garlic is a pungent herb, which can sting the eyes, burn the throat, cause our breath and sweat to smell and may well overcome other less powerful flavours in a dish. Garlic is like many herbs or seasonings, in that its effect changes dramatically depending on at what stage you add it to a dish, how you chop, slice or crush it and how long you cook it. If used correctly, garlic can be used liberally in a dish without making that dish over-powering. Conversely, you can make one clove of garlic go a long way in a dish without dulling its impact. Garlic is not to everyone’s taste, but we would urge you to explore different ways garlic can enhance a dish. Garlic can be subtle, sweet, nutty and deeply comforting, all depending on how you treat it.
