50 Garlic Cloves

Breakaway CookEric Gower cooks up garlic confit, which he keeps in his refrigerator to use whenever garlic is called for in recipes. He recommends using the same amount of confit as you’d use garlic in a recipe. He also suggests adding it to pasta sauces at the end of cooking.

Garlic Confit

50 fresh whole cloves of peeled garlic! (fresh is very important)

Olive oil

Put garlic in shallow pan and cover with about 2 inches of olive oil, until all cloves are covered. Cook on the lowest flame setting for 45 minutes. Let cool and transfer to a jar. Garlic gets deliciously mellow and creamy.

Precautions for avoiding botulism in oil infusion recipes:

• Wash all soil-contaminated produce before adding it to an oil infusion

• Add an acidifying agent such as lemon juice or vinegar to the recipe at the rate of one tablespoon per cup of oil

• Keep oil infusions refrigerated in order to retard the growth of any microbes

• Discard infusions after one week, or sooner if apparent cloudiness, gas bubbles, or foul odor develop

• When in doubt, throw it out