The Garlic Trinity

Nahvae is a friend of the farm and incredible chef who graces many floral residencies with her cooking. It’s rare to find her in front of a camera, and we wanted to seize this opportunity to learn as versatile of recipes as possible.

Here she teaches us how to make three of her legendary condiments at once, all involving garlic: Confit, “Mayoli,” and Chile Oil. These are things you can keep in your fridge to upgrade virtually any dish to decadence.

We filmed her working as she naturally does, which means portions were all eye-balled, but please see below for outlines on measured ingredients, if that’s your style.

Garlic Confit

1 head of garlic, peeled

3 sprigs thyme leaves, if available

2 fresh bay leaves, if available

1.5c. olive oil

Place all of the ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer slowly over very low heat until the garlic cloves are golden brown and tender. 

Once it's cooled - store the garlic in the oil in an airtight container in the refrigerator. 

Garlic Chile Oil

1 head of garlic, peeled

2c. olive oil

2-3 ancho chiles

3-5 arbol chiles

salt

Place the garlic in a small saucepan with the oil and simmer slowly over low heat until the cloves are golden brown and tender. 

Stem the chiles and add them to the oil, let them cook for just a minute or two to soften. Let the oil cool and blend all of the ingredients together. 

While blending, you can season it with salt - but you can skip it if you prefer yours without. 

If you'd like to add to the flavor and depth of the oil - you can add shallot or onion to the oil when you add the garlic; spice seeds or citrus zest when you add the chiles before blending all together. 

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. 

Mayo + Aioli

1 clove garlic, peeled (or 3 cloves garlic confit)

1 egg yolk

1 egg

1 + tsp white vinegar or lemon juice

1.5c. grapeseed oil or other neutral oil

.5c. olive oil

1 tsp dijon mustard (optional)

salt

black pepper (optional)

In the food processor, blend the garlic, vinegar, egg and egg yolk with the vinegar or lemon juice (add the mustard at this step if you plan to use it). 

With the motor whirring, drizzle the olive oil to the mixture (not too slowly, not too quickly). 

It's best if you aim to drizzle it toward the center of the blades. 

Do the same with the grapeseed oil until the mixture has thickened and is a similar texture to custard.  You may need a little more or a little less oil. 

Once it's the desired consistency, add a little salt (and pepper if you'd like it). 

Taste and adjust for acidity and salt. Pack it in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator.