Black Garlic Paste
A near-effortless paste of extraordinary depth — aged black garlic cloves, whose months of slow Maillard transformation have rendered them jet-black, soft as ripe figs, and tasting of balsamic vinegar and tamarind, blended with olive oil and salt into a smooth, intensely umami spread.
Ingredients
For 4 servings · tick what is ready
Use the scaled ingredient list. Steps and temperatures stay unchanged; use a larger pan or dish if needed. Seasonings to taste stay to taste.
How to make it
Peel the black garlic cloves — the skin should come off easily, revealing uniformly black or very dark purple-brown, completely soft cloves that yield to slight finger pressure. A properly aged black garlic clove should feel like a very ripe, moist fig — soft throughout with no firm white core. If you find firm white centers, the garlic was not aged long enough and the paste will have an unpleasant raw garlic bite mixed with the fermented sweetness.
Combine the black garlic cloves, olive oil, salt, and balsamic vinegar (if using) in a small food processor or using an immersion blender. Process 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the sides every 30 seconds, until the paste is absolutely smooth, glossy, and black. The high natural sugar content of black garlic makes it want to clump rather than blend — be patient and add the oil gradually if the blender is struggling. The finished paste should be smooth enough to pipe through a fine nozzle. Store in a small airtight jar under a layer of olive oil, refrigerated, for up to 1 month.
About this recipe
By ForkRecipe Kitchen · Source: ForkRecipe / FoodML and contributors. Recipe content available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Serving count is an estimate; check quantities in the source recipe.