5 Ingredients or Fewer

Can't live without you Garlic Infused Olive Oil

by:
November  8, 2009
5
1 Ratings
Can't live without you Garlic Infused Olive Oil
  • Serves 1 standard 750ml bottle
Author Notes

How many times do you peel, mince, crush or slice garlic to cook in olive oil? And how many times do you have to take the garlic out before continuing the recipe? Well garlic and I are together almost everytime I cook. So I decided to make life simple and make my own Garlic Infused Olive Oil and have it handy for all the recipes that call for garlic. The bottle goes down pretty quickly, I assure you, and without the hassle of dealing with garlic all the time. —Maria Teresa Jorge

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 750 milliliters Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 garlic head
Directions
  1. Remove the external dry and papery skin of a garlic head but leave the fresher skin that holds the garlic head together. With a sharp knife on a cutting board slice the garlic head horizontally.
  2. Put the 2 garlic halves in a pan, add the olive oil (use the same quality as you use for cooking) and put over medium heat. As soon as the olive oil starts to sizzle, remove from the heat and let infuse until it's completely cold. The garlic will still be white at this point but the heat of the oil will eventually turn the garlic gold.
  3. As soon as the olive oil is cold, strain it into a bottle using a funnel. Discard the galic. Use everytime your recipes call for olive oil and garlic.
  4. Note 1: Don't be tempted by leaving the olive oil and garlic more time over the heat, the garlic will cook too much and leave a bitter after taste. When the oil is cold your garlic will be all golden.
  5. Note 2: Don't add herbs to this infusion because not always does the recipe call for the same herbs. If you want, make several infusions like garlic and rosemary, garlic and bay leaf but don't mix everything together because you will find yourself using garlic and rosemary when it calls for garlic and thyme.
  6. Note 3: As the olive oil will be the same colour as the normal olive oil I advise you to put a label on the bottle.
Tags:
Contest Entries

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • sexyLAMBCHOPx
    sexyLAMBCHOPx
  • TheWimpyVegetarian
    TheWimpyVegetarian
  • Kelsey Banfield
    Kelsey Banfield
  • Maria Teresa Jorge
    Maria Teresa Jorge

Popular on Food52

7 Reviews

D F.
D F. February 15, 2013
How long does this last once you have cooled and removed the garlic?
 
JayKayTee
JayKayTee April 27, 2011
Hmmm, I wonder how this differs from just peeling whole cloves and dropping them into the oil? That's how I have done it. As for sexyLCx's question. Sure you can use it for something else. I take the raw cloves out of mine and slice, mince, chop, or rub on toasted bread.
 
Maria T.
Maria T. April 28, 2011
Hi JayKayTee, there shouldn't be much difference although I find the skin protects the garlic from getting overcooked too fast.
The main thing for me is cutting down time and labour in the kitchen, hence anything I can do to minimize my work suits me fine.
 
sexyLAMBCHOPx
sexyLAMBCHOPx January 21, 2011
Where did you find that bottle to store your garlic infused oil? Also, can the discarded garlic be recycled somehow and incorporated into a same day or future dish?
 
Maria T.
Maria T. April 28, 2011
Sorry SexyLambhopx, I didn't see your question before.
It's an old bottle I bought in a flea market in Italy. The label I made it myself.
The discarded garlic I remove the skin and mash the inside with a fork and store it in a jar in the fridge and use it for cooking foods that call for garlic.
There is a great tomato tart from Martha Stewart that calls for roasted garlic layer between the pastry and the tomatoes and I make it a lot as well.
Hope this helps.
 
TheWimpyVegetarian
TheWimpyVegetarian December 11, 2009
I think flavored oils are a wonderful holiday gift, or for any other time of year. Good notes at the end. Thanks!
 
Kelsey B.
Kelsey B. November 9, 2009
I can't live without garlic infused olive oil either!!!