It’s International Garlic Day! Besides curing toothaches and keeping away vampires, this herb also adds some serious flavor to your food making them irresistible. Hence it’s only fitting that we list 3 recipes in which the ‘stinking rose’ is an absolute stunner. Caution: Drool warning ahead. 

• Cheesy pull apart garlic bread

Image src: https://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/garlic-potatoes-13380

What you need:

1 crusty loaf, preferably sourdough or Vienna

1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese (or other melting cheese)

GARLIC BUTTER

100 g / 1 stick (8 tbsp) unsalted butter , softened

2 large garlic cloves , minced

3/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp fresh parsley , finely chopped

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.

Combine butter, garlic and salt in a heatproof bowl and melt in the microwave. Stir through parsley.

Cut the bread diagonally into 1 inch diamonds but do not cut all the way through.

Pry open each crack and add in a teaspoon of butter and a pinch of cheese. Brush surface with remaining butter.

Wrap with foil and bake for 20 minutes until the cheese has mostly melted, then unwrap and bake for 5 - 10 minutes more to make the bread nice and crusty.

Serve immediately!

• Crispy garlic potatoes

Image src: https://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/garlic-potatoes-13380

What you need:

1 1/2 pounds baby Yukon Gold potatoes (baby red potatoes also work well)

1 sprig rosemary

3 sprigs thyme

2 cups low sodium chicken broth, plus 1/2 cup more if necessary

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter, divided

1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for topping

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped

Preparation:                       

Arrange the baby potatoes in a 10″ nonstick skillet, so that they fit together neatly but with a bit extra room as you’ll need to flatten them out later.

Add in the rosemary, thyme, chicken broth, olive oil, 1 tablespoon butter, and kosher salt. Heat the pan to high and bring to a boil. Once the broth boils, reduce the heat to medium, add in the garlic, and (almost) cover the skillet, leaving a very small opening for excess steam to escape. Ensure the broth continues to boil for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are easily punctured with a fork.

If the liquid has all absorbed, add the additional 1/2 cup of chicken broth. If you don’t have enough broth, use water or a combination of the two. You want the liquid to cover about 1/3 way up the potatoes at this point.

Remove the pan from the heat and press down on the tops of the potatoes lightly until the skin cracks and they flatten out a bit.

Return the potatoes to high heat, uncovered, and cook until the liquid evaporates and the potatoes are browned on the bottom, about 12 minutes.

Remove the potatoes from heat again, turn the potatoes, scrape up any burnt bits and add the last tablespoon of butter to the pan. Press the other sides of the potatoes to crack and flatten them more if necessary. Sprinkle the potatoes with parsley and cook until the other side is browned, about 5 minutes.

Serve warm and sprinkled with salt.

• Italian Garlic Butter

Image src: https://cookthestory.com/the-best-garlic-butter/

What you need:

salted butter

garlic paste

parmesan cheese

dried or fresh parsley

Preparation:

Add butter to a mixer bowl & beat on high for several minutes using the paddle attachment.

After the butter is creamy- add in the rest of the ingredients & continue beating another several minutes.

Transfer to an airtight container & store refrigerated as you would your regular butter.

Spread on a French loaf & then place in the broiler for a couple minutes to make garlic bread or use it as a dip for your lobster.