BLACK GARLIC

Black garlic? No need to adjust your set. This garlic is fermented at high temperatures and then aged to transform the bulbs to this black color. It is a unique and flavorful ingredient that is used in Asian cuisine. I first heard of this from Zia from ‘Zia in the Kitchen’. She made a Morel risotto with her black garlic. Sandwiches are in vogue these days and I am going to jump on the bandwagon. An Asparagus sandwich with a black garlic cream cheese spread will be my creation.
  Black garlic is sweet smelling with a slightly fermented odor. The flavor is like a balsamic vinegar or molasses with its sweetness. There is a lot of flavor in these cloves. Hints of vanilla, soy sauce and chocolate with a mushroom type finish are some of the flavors I experienced. The texture is soft and a little chewy.

A dollop of cream cheese and sour cream was mixed with half a dozen black garlic cloves. A pinch of horseradish and a little chopped green onion was added to put a little kick into this creation. The mixture was stirred until smooth. It was spread over some toasted sourdough bread and topped with freshly steamed asparagus. A leaf of lettuce cradled our sandwich filling. This was one beautiful sandwich. The garlic and cream cheese added such a dimension to our asparagus. Black garlic is a new tasty, complex ingredient that will have to be explored deeper. The sky is the limit of what we can create using black garlic. I cannot wait.