“I think that what we actually need, of course, is a little more dirt on the seat of our pants as we sit on the front stoop & talk to our neighbors once again, enjoying the type of summer day where the smell of garlic travels slightly faster than the speed of sound.” -Harvey Milk, revolutionary American politician & first openly gay man ever to be elected to public office in the state of California

“Every time you make garlic confit, somewhere a vampire loses its fangs.”  I think that’s about how the quote went as I was demonstrating this recipe in front of over a dozen wide-eyed faces.  (So far the confidence I have in the kitchen when I’m flying solo appears to flee the scene the minute I’m before a crowd, so the comic relief was most certainly appreciated.)

Most people are familiar with the word ‘confit’ by way of France and duck legs.  But a confit of vegetables is a bit of a different animal.  The item (in this case garlic) is gently cooked in oil (in this case olive) along with other optional flavoring agents (in this case bay leaf, chiles de árbol, and thyme) until softened.  It is a stunningly simple procedure with rather beautiful side effects.  Harold McGee describes in his book “On Food & Cooking: The Science & Lore of the Kitchen,” that “the general sense [of confit] has been to immerse a food in and often impregnate it with a substance that both flavors it and preserves it.”  He’s absolutely right, of course (he’s Harold friggin’ McGee for crying out loud…..), but I like to think of it, perhaps, as less of a one-way street.  It isn’t just the garlic that’s taking on all kinds of lovely new characteristics here.  It’s the oil, too.  They’ve managed to become something of a perfect culinary party dress, borrowing just the right amount of this or that from one another until truly worthy of a hermetically-sealed glass jar and a pretty little bow.

I selected this recipe for my demonstration because anyone can do it, it’s very inexpensive, and it makes a wonderful holiday gift for people who love food.  (Incidentally, it will also make your house smell insanely amazing.)  The garlic confit can be used in place of raw garlic in virtually any recipe imaginable, and the oil (now beautifully flavor-infused) can be used for cooking, on salads, on bread…..the possibilities are as endless as your imagination.  The flavoring agents have colors which suggest the holiday season and interact wonderfully together.  And because fat is naturally bacteria-resistant, storing garlic confit in its cooking oil extends is shelf life considerably – it will keep for months in a refrigerated air-tight container.

Ingredients:

6 whole heads of garlic, cloves peeled and left whole (NOTE:  Look for garlic heads that are firm, tightly closed, and feel heavy for their size.  Peeling the cloves is time consuming, but placing them in a bowl of warm water for about 10 minutes before removing the skins will make it much easier.)

3 bay leaves

3 dried chiles de árbol

3 sprigs fresh thyme

2 cups pure olive oil (NOTE:  This is not the place for expensive extra virgin olive oil, which is very fragile and all but destroyed when cooked.  Just use a decent pure olive oil and you’ll be fine.)

Instructions:

1.  Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan over a low flame and cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.  Garlic should be softened, but not browned.  (NOTE:  It’s not a bad idea to check on the pot every 8-10 minutes or so during the cooking process.  A little bit of bubbling is ok, but you don’t want a full boil to occur.)

2.  Carefully transfer everything into one (or several) airtight containers.  This will keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 months.

Yield: About 1 1/2 pints (3 cups) of pure vampire repellent