Annual Food & Drink Issue
Garlic is a magical ingredient. In addition to its delicious taste and intoxicating smell, garlic has a variety of health benefits and medicinal properties. It packs a lot of power for such a small plant! Garlic is a staple in any kitchen, as you’ll see in the following recipes. Here, local chefs share their favorite garlicky dishes and tips for cooking with the beloved aromatic.
Photography by Rich Smith
“I love cooking with garlic because it is one of the most versatile ingredients in the kitchen. From confit to fermentation, its uses are only limited by one’s own creativity.” – Wilbur Cox Jr., Executive Chef
Place one head of garlic in a vacuum bag and seal on high until all air is removed. (If you do not have a vacuum sealer, a gallon Ziploc bag will also work.) Place this bag in a fermentation chamber at 140° and ferment for 2 months or until the garlic has turned completely black. (It should smell like soy sauce and have a sweet aroma.) When fermentation is complete, remove the black garlic cloves from the skins. Place these cloves in a pot and cover with 4 cups of water. Simmer until the garlic is super soft. Place this mixture into a high-powered blender and blend until super smooth. Season to taste with salt and reserve this mixture for later in the recipe.
Place okra in a Mason jar. In a sauce pot, bring apple cider vinegar, water, sugar, and a head of garlic (sliced horizontally to expose the cloves) to a boil and pour over the okra in the jar. Seal with a lid. Let stand at room temperature for at least 3 days.
Dry lion’s mane mushrooms in the dehydrator until dry and brittle. Place the dried mushrooms into a high-powered blender and blend until the mushrooms are powder.
In a pot with a lid, add oil to coat the bottom. Turn to high heat and add popcorn kernels. Add lid and shake vigorously. Pop the popcorn until no kernels remain. Add water to the pot and boil popcorn until the starch is completely gelled and soft. Strain mixture through a fine-meshed sieve and let it hang in the sieve to remove as much water as possible. Take the popcorn mixture and push through a tamis or strainer. Look for the soft popcorn to go through the sieve, not any kernels. Finish by adding butter and season to taste.
Bring your ribeye up to room temperature on a plate. (This will ensure even cooking of your steak.) Once at room temperature, season heavily with salt and pepper and dip into the dried mushroom crust. Coat evenly on both sides. Meanwhile, heat a cast-iron pan on high until it begins to smoke. Add oil, then begin to cook steak starting with the fat cap side down to help render out the fat. Once fat cap is rendered and caramelized, flip it to the other side and cook it until caramelized. Flip the steak over, add the remaining mushrooms, and roast the pan in the oven until the internal temperature of the steak is 120° (roughly mid-rare). Meanwhile, in a small sauce pot, warm the popcorn purée. Remove the steak from the oven, place back on the burner over high heat, and add the butter, garlic cloves, and sprigs of rosemary and thyme. Allow the butter to brown in the pan and tilt pan toward yourself at a 45-degree angle. Baste the steak and mushrooms in the garlic- and herb-infused brown butter. Remove the steak and mushrooms from the pan and allow the meat to rest for roughly 5 minutes, preferably on a resting rack. While the steak is resting, remove the okra and garlic from Mason jar and slice the okra long ways to expose the seeds. Remove some of the pickled garlic from the skins as well. Add ribeye to the plate. Drop dollops of the black garlic mixture on the plate and top with okra. Finish with an optional sprinkle of Maldon salt over everything.
