garlic bread +++

I have been making a version of this Ina Garten recipe for more than 10 years. Over that time it has evolved several times over. The basics of it stay the same; make a garlic-herb mixture in a food processor, warm it in oil, use it along with some softened butter on a loaf of bread, and bake.

Photo

It is such a basic recipe and since we all make garlic bread, I never thought it was worth sharing. So why share it now? Well, I finally decided that it’s not just the bread that I’m sharing here, but the side benefit of making this bread – the extra oil/garlic/herb mixture that you end up with.

You see, over time, I’ve added more ingredients and volume to the original recipe, so there is always some of the oil mixture left. I freeze the excess in mini-ice cube trays and use the resulting oil cubes for sautéing.

They add extra and unexpected oomph to just about any savory dish. It’s like having little nuggets of cooking gold at your fingertips.

So make a loaf of garlic bread this week and some gold-green nuggets at the same time.

Garlic-Herb Bread

• 6 large garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 cup Italian parsley leaves
• 1/4 cup fresh oregano leaves
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 loaf of thick Italian or French bread
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Turn on an empty food processor, with the machine running; drop the garlic cloves in through the feed tube and process until minced.

Stop the machine, remove the lid and add the basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, salt, red pepper flakes, and black pepper.

Cover and pulse until nearly smooth.

Heat the olive oil in a small skillet and add the garlic-herb mixture, give a stir and then quickly remove the pan from the heat.

Slice the bread in half horizontally, and spread the softened butter on one half. Spread the garlic mixture on the other half of the bread, and put the halves together.

Wrap the bread in aluminum foil. Place the bread in the preheated oven and bake for 5 minutes. Open the foil, and continue baking for an additional 5 minutes to crisp slightly.

Remove loaf from oven, slice, and serve hot.

Serves 8 to 10

Save

Save

Save