If you ever wondered why there are no vampires in Spain, it could be because virtually everything is cooked or served with garlic. You can even buy garlic shoots in the market, which resemble spring onions but are pink at the bottom. However, they have a kick like a mule, as my husband found out. We could smell him coming for days afterwards! The Spanish eat them in salads, but it’s an acquired taste.
In Spain, garlic cloves are larger and the flavour is stronger than you may have been used to, so experiment to find the right level for you. You can always add more, but you can’t remove it from the finished dish! Grate or crush your garlic for the best dispersal of flavour. In England, I always finely chopped my garlic, but here it works better crushed in most cases.
There’s an exception to every rule, of course. For chicken breasts with a difference, slice almost in half, then slice a couple of large cloves of garlic lengthways and insert into the gap. Drizzle with olive oil, season with black pepper and wrap your chicken breast in foil. Oven bake or cook on the barbecue. Your chicken will be moist and full of flavour.
The Spanish don’t really do butter with their bread, but they often drizzle olive oil over it, then cut a clove of garlic in half and rub along the surface of the bread. Sprinkle with ground black pepper or chilli flakes for a delicious snack any time of the day.
When you visit a Spanish restaurant, you will invariably be served with bread and garlic mayonnaise, or ali oli. You can buy ali oli ready made in jars in the supermarket, but I prefer to make my own, and it’s so easy. Buy a good quality mayonnaise, then add loads of crushed or grated garlic until you can smell it coming. Make sure everyone has some, though, or there may be trouble ahead!
Recently, we eat in a local hotel, and the ali oli was deliciously different. I prised the secret out of the chef, and he told me he added a splash of lemon juice and some freeze dried parsley along with the garlic. This made for a more colourful product, with the added bonus that parsley helps to kill the ‘garlic breath.’ Try it soon – you’ll love it.
Add whole, peeled cloves of garlic when roasting vegetables for an improved flavour. The brave ones can eat the garlic along with the vegetables, but if you don’t want to eat it, don’t discard it. Mash the cooked garlic cloves, wrap in foil and store in the fridge for up to 3 days. Add to soups and casseroles for an extra dimension of flavour.
I hope I’ve given you some ideas for using garlic in your Spanish cooking, but do treat it with respect. One more thing before I sign off. If you’re unfortunate enough to get a wasp sting, cut a clove of garlic in half and rub the cut surface over the sting immediately, then every 20 minutes or so for the next hour. It takes away the pain and reduces the swelling – believe me, I know!
