I was fortunate to score some of Klipper’s Organic Acres first garlic of the season at the June 20th West End Farmer’s Market. This garlic is uncured (cured garlic will be available next month) and it is therefore more perishable – so if you pick some up and are not planning to use it right away, you will want to keep it in the refrigerator.
I adore garlic in all of its many forms. This is the first time that I have had the pleasure of using uncured garlic, which has quite a bite if you are using it as you would cured garlic. Today, I began by first anointing two heads with olive oil and a little salt & pepper, and then roasting them for about 45 minutes in a 350 degree oven. This was some of the most beautiful roasted garlic that I have ever tasted.
With the stalks, I followed Klipper’s suggestion and made a simple garlic stock, cutting them into 4 inch pieces and infusing them in 6 cups of simmering water that was lightly seasoned with kosher salt for about an hour. The finished stock was very light and clean tasting, but what brought it to an even higher level was adding the skins from the roasted garlic for an additional 15 minutes. Now that was some pure crack garlic stock goodness!
I then decided to make a Garlic Lover’s Risotto. I still had some garlic scapes left over after pickling 8 bunches (trip report to follow), so I sauteed them up with some grape seed oil, a little salt, and set them aside.
I made a traditional risotto, first sweating 1/2 a small onion until translucent, then adding 1 cup of arborio rice and cooking until the grains were translucent on the exterior but opaque in the middle (3-4 minutes). I then added about 1/4 cup of white vermouth. A few minutes later, I began adding the garlic stock (which was simmering in another pot) one ladle at a time, as the stock was slowly absorbed into the rice. It took just over 5 cups of the stock and 22 minutes of cooking, stirring frequently over medium heat, to bring out the natural creaminess of the risotto. Next, I added the sauteed garlic scapes and the roasted garlic, incorporating even more garlicky goodness into the risotto. A few minutes later, the risotto was al dente, creamy and pretty much done. To finish, I added about 1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmesan and a few cubes of cold butter (for sexy sheen) and continued to stir until everything was incorporated.
Serves two. Unbelievably delicious, and I believe that it was a fine tribute to the first garlic of the season. I only wish I had a better photo of the final dish. It was so good, I may recreate it this week, and hopefully get a better picture.
Anticipated new Klipper’s arrivals at the June 27th West End Farmer’s Market:
- Golden Zuchhini
- Cherries! (Cristillina and Van varieties)