For some reason we either cook garlic in olive oil or butter. Perhaps it's habit, tradition or just being stuck in a rut. In any case today we were cooking garlic slices in olive oil alongside some bacon lardons rendering in a pan to go on the clam pie. When Aki pulled the crispy bacon bits from the fat it dawned on me that we should add that extra bacon fat to the olive oil to add flavor to both the garlic and the fat. It was not a big leap, just a small connection based on proximity. Of course now that we have cooked the garlic in bacon fat doors are opening and walls are crumbling down. The mind leaps to smoked duck fat with garlic and broccoli stems in lard. But beyond the extrapolations is the here and now. We are happily enjoying tender slivers of garlic infused with a smoky bacon flavor.
Years Past:
