Tuesday 7 August 2012

Wet Garlic

My Spring-planted garlic has not been particularly impressive - but my excuse is that I'm a novice in this department, and I'm probably not treating it right. I shall improve! Next time round I think I'll do the conventional thing and plant my garlic in Autumn...


I wasn't too sure which types were included in my mixed pack from Thompson and Morgan. To be honest, my purchase was an afterthought, and I suspect that T and M's offering was too - maybe the bulbs that didn't sell in the Autumn had been kept in cold storage until Spring. Or am I being uncharitable?? It seems that some of the bulbs were Softneck types and some were Hardneck. (See, I'm learning the lingo!)

The foliage of some of the plants had withered and gone brown, so I didn't think they would grow any more, and I pulled them up. Others though had produced scapes (immature bulbils, a bit like flower-buds), so I identified these as Hardneck varieties, and went in with the secateurs, cutting the scape but leaving the bulb in the soil... [Note: my research shows me that Spring-planted garlic is never going to produce big bulbs, for which the plants need an extended (8 -10 week) period of cold (10C or less).]

Scapes




Viewed in close-up these bulbs don't look too bad, but in all honesty they are very small.



I didn't consider them big enough to be worth storing, so I decided that we should try eating them straight away, as "wet" garlic.


The garlic smelled pretty pungent, so I was hesitant about how to use it and about how much we would be able to eat in one go, so I invented a simple dish for us to eat at lunchtime. If it didn't work we could always have a sandwich. I peeled the garlic and separated the tiny bright pearly white cloves, and I chopped the stalks of the scapes into sections about a centimetre long, but left the "flowers" intact.


I sliced some cold cooked potatoes and sauteed them in some oil. About halfway through their cooking time I added the garlic, and cooked the dish slowly until was golden brown. I felt it important not to cook the garlic too quickly because I thought that the little garlic cloves might burn easily.



 I served the dish with a few quartered cherry tomatoes for added colour, and some salami - in this case a type we had bought recently in France. It has hazelnuts in it.


Jane had initially been horrified by the amount of garlic I was using, but in the end I think she had to admit that the young garlic was much milder than mature stuff. To be honest I didn't think it tasted any different to "normal" garlic, but it was nevertheless nice. The scapes were good too, but perhaps not as exciting as I had been led to believe. Jane said they reminded her of the Chinese Garlic Chives we used to get on the market when we lived in Hong kong.


16 comments:

  1. That looks delicious. After reading that most of our garlic is imported from the East and is irradiated before reaching the grocery shelves, we have decided to plant our own. Put the first cloves in about a month ago - about twenty, but only about 4 seem to be showing any signs of growth. Hopefully they produce something worthwhile.

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  2. I am glad you mentioned garlic so I will remember to keep a bed free for it this winter. Your meal looks wonderful. My garlic last year was a bit small too but better than I had ever had before.

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  3. Oh ! Nom nom.
    I've only once planted garlic in time (as in autumn) Needles to say that was the only time I had a nice crop. :/

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  4. Mark that does look like a lovely meal.

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  5. It looks delicious. Garlic is pretty easy to grow around here, but then again it freezes all winter long.

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  6. Delicious! The garlic looks beautiful with the slight hint of pink in it!

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  7. That mean looks quite delicious and colorful! Very creative, too!

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  8. I've tried garlic the last three years and have never been happy with what I've managed. This year though I planted a big patch and my fingers are crossed. But I have been lazy and there are weeds in my patch which I know they don't like. Anyway, I think your meal looks good - of course being vegetarian I would leave out the salami but the rest looks good ;)

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  9. If the garlic is really wet I don't even bother peeling the cloves, and I don't find the texture an issue.

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  10. They are so beautifully translucent when young. We always plant in the autumn (or end of the year for some varieties) and so far we have always had pretty decent crops without much effort - as long as we lift them before rust or white rot strikes too far. The cold weather helps the garlic form multiple cloves, looks like most of yours had enough for that despite a shorter cold season. Lovely wet crop!

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  11. That dish looks delicious! Despite the fact that you are a little disappointed with the size of your bulbs, dont the bulbs look lovely? I tried my first garlic last year and had bulbs much like yours. I will try again though...

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  12. it looks simply stunning I must say... I love how garlic softens and mellows as it cooks and would have used even more myself... these young garlics are fab and my neighbour gave me a who load recently so using them with potatoes must be the thing to do!

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  14. Looks good. The stalks look green - did you let them dry up a bit? The hazelnuts in the sausage is a wonderful touch! An excellent lunch!

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  15. I have no fear of Vampires with the amount of garlic we eat....I adore it!!!
    Your's look brilliant. :D

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  16. You shouldn't catch cold Mark or maybe make new friends!

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