Garlic Confit

• servings: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

2 heads of garlic, cloves peeled and root ends trimmed (see note)

Extra-virgin olive oil, as needed (see note)

Roasted Garlic

Pickled Garlic

Directions

In a saucepan, cover garlic with enough oil to fully submerge it.

Set over medium heat and bring to a bare simmer. Lower heat to maintain the barest simmer, so that you see some tiny bubbles on the garlic, but it's not actively frying in the oil.

Cook, adjusting heat as necessary to maintain this minimal level of cooking activity, until the garlic is buttery soft and tan in color, 1 to 3 hours (exactly how long it takes will depend on the garlic you're using, including its size and age, and how hot the oil is; raising the heat will move things faster but also shortchange you on the flavor development).

Transfer garlic confit and the cooking oil to a clean heatproof container, cover with plastic, and refrigerate immediately.

Refrigerated in its oil, the garlic confit can be kept for up to 2 weeks.

Notes

This recipe can be scaled up or down as desired.

We love the flavor of olive oil with the garlic, but you can use any neutral vegetable oil for this, such as grapeseed or canola oil; you can also use a more affordable olive oil such as pure olive oil.