Thomas Keller's Garlic Confit

I've been the proud owner of Thomas Keller's Bouchon cookbook for several years, but it's been a long time since I did something with it, other than show it off or look at the pretty pictures.

The short explanation for this negligence is: laziness. Sometimes, most of the time, I don't feel like straining something four times before it's 'ready'. At a glance, Keller's recipes may appear complicated due to sheer word count, but they are extremely simple, requiring time instead of skill, patience in place of experience. His instructions are precise, and each recipe is preceded by a brief, elegant description of why it deserves inclusion on illustrious menus.

A food-loving friend of mine, recently visiting my table from out of town, commented that she often grows tired of her own food because it "all tastes the same". I've had similar frustrations lately, and we discussed strategies for diversification, concluding that using good cookbooks (and really using them - not whimsically substituting or improvising) is best practice for developing new flavor combinations, and proper techniques for achieving them.

The back of the book has a wonderful 'Basic Preparations and Techniques' appendix, and it was smugly validating for a garlic fiend like myself to see that Garlic Confit was the very first recipe, under 'Building Blocks".

Confit comes from the French verb confire: to preserve. In traditional cooking terminology, confit more specifically refers to something which has been preserved by slowly cooking in its own fat, i.e. duck confit. In this recipe, garlic is slowly simmered in oil. I was interested to see that Keller calls for canola rather than olive oil. Having made it, I appreciate why: the neutrally-flavored base ensures the delicate sweetness of the garlic is preserved.

The key is to cook it at a barely-bubbling heat to avoid any browning, which can result in bitterness over time. The result is spreadably tender, mildly sweet cloves which can be whipped into a light spread, smashed into other marinades or vegetables, or eaten off a fork. And it's good for month, provided it lasts that long.

Recipe: Thomas Keller's Garlic Confit
1 cup peeled garlic cloves*
Approximately 2 cups canola oil**

Cut off and discard root ends of the garlic cloves. Place the cloves in a small saucepan and add enough oil to cover them by about 1 inch - none of the garlic cloves should be poking through.

Place the saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook the cloves very gently: very small bubbles will come through the oil, but the bubbles should not break the surface. Adjust heat as necessary and remove pan from heat if cooking too quickly.

Cook the garlic for about 40 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so to avoid browning surfaces, until the the cloves are completely tender when pierced with a knife. Remove saucepan from heat and allow the garlic to cool in the oil.

Refrigerate the garlic, submerged in the oil, for up to a month.

*I bought peeled, whole garlic from the grocery store. They were fresh, and only required trimming the root ends. As I said, I'm lazy.

**My one caveat is that canola oil is quite heavy on the tongue - next time, I'll splurge and try equal portions of grapeseed and canola. (I'm allowed to experiment after following directions once!)