Re: How to eat garlic

There're so many ways to eat garlic - I don't see why you would ever have to eat it by itself.

The yogurt and salt is truly a very common condiment; I love fat though, so I usually do the same thing with sour cream. Once you have that sauce (you can also add some dill to it) you can put it on a sandwich, salad, chicken... it's great with felaffel or as a dip, in a simple salad of red radishes and scallions, the options go on.

You may be surprised, but the way you cut your garlic does make a difference in how it tastes (saw it on Martha Stewart and confirmed it for myself). If you do the crushing with a knife thing or put it through a press, the cells break very rapidly, making the flavor much more bitter and hot. I usually just chop it very finely.

If you have the money and availability, you could also try something called "heirloom garlic"; the skin is kinda purple. I think it's simply hardneck garlic (what's usually sold in stores is softneck). Hardneck garlic grows in colder regions, and is more mild in flavor. I personally love it, but it's not always easy to find.

Basically, raw garlic is quite palatable in any finely shredded salad:

cucumber (just grate the cucumber, add some salt, pepper, your garlic, any herbs you have around, especially dill or cilantro, and sour cream if you eat dairy)

beet (I actually use boiled beets, grate them, and mix with salt, pepper, lots of raw garlic, and sour cream) - This is totally delicious!

Try finely chopped tomatoes, kidney beans (I take canned), and lots of chopped cilantro and raw garlic

You can roast your own red peppers under the broiler or on the grill intil they're charred and soft (much cheaper than buying roasted red peppers), let them cool, peel the skin, cut in slices, put some salt and vinegar over them, and add chopped garlic; this can keep in the fridge for a while.

OR finely grate a couple of carrots, and mix them with salt, finely chopped walnuts, some oil, and... finely chopped garlic! This is a delicious salad - I make it for parties. You can always add mayonnaise if you're into that kinda thing.

Actually, chopped walnuts, salt, and oil mix great with garlic and taste terrific on just about anything, especially eggplant. Also, feel free to add any finely chopped fresh herbs.

Anyway, I may be going way over the top here, but if you want more ideas let me know. Tweet