Roasted Green Garlic Biscotti
Michael Giletto, Executive Chef, Cherry
Valley Country Club, Skillman, N.J. and
Alina Eisenhauer, Executive Pastry Chef,
Eat Dessert First Inc., DBA Sweet,
Worcester, Mass.
Yield: 12 biscotti
1 small head green garlic
Canola or vegetable oil, as needed
1¼ cups + 1 T. sugar
4 oz. unsalted butter
3 large eggs
1 t. vanilla
3½ cups all-purpose flour
½ t. baking powder
1 cup chopped almonds
1 cup white-chocolate chips
1) Heat oven to 350ºF. Place garlic
(bulb only), cut in quarters, on sheet of
foil; drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with 1 T.
sugar; close foil around garlic to make
packet. Bake 40 minutes to 1 hour, until
garlic is soft and squeezable.
2) Cream
butter, remaining sugar and garlic until
light and fluffy. Add eggs slowly, one
at a time; add vanilla. Scrape bowl well
after each addition. 3) Add flour and
baking powder; mix until combined.
Add almonds and white-chocolate
chips; mix to combine.
4) Shape into
two logs approximately 1½ inches
tall by 2½ inches wide. Place on
lightly sprayed baking sheet. Bake 30
minutes, or until toothpick inserted in
center comes out clean. Cool to room
temperature.
5) Slice into approximately
1-inch slices; put back on baking sheet.
Bake 15 minutes longer, or until they
just begin to brown.
Green garlic biscotti was created for a James Beard dinner in New York by Michael Giletto and Alina Eisenhauer.
©2010 Scott Erb www.erbphoto.com
remaining true to American growers and
supporting U.S. production, locale isn’t
the biggest factor in quality, says Justin
Guibert, Christopher Ranch’s manager of
foodservice sales and marketing.
“There are hundreds of varietals that grow
all over the world, in Russia, India, China
and Mexico, for example. Geography isn’t
it. The seed makes the difference,” he says.
“The seed we use was brought over from
Italy 50 years ago when garlic was first
grown in California.” The company founder
experimented with various types and
settled on the heirloom variety for the flavor.
Black trend
Fairly new to the U.S. market, black garlic
is gaining the attention of chefs, and
probably no two describe the flavor the
same. It is simply regular garlic that has
been fermented in high heat for up to a
month, causing the sugars and amino acids
to produce melanoidin, which turns it black.
Because of the chemical transformation, it
is said to have higher antioxidant levels. It’s
been used widely in Korea and Thailand, and
more recently has gained U.S. attention as a
choice ingredient on Bravo TV’s “Top Chef”.
store produce executives, and brought
along some black garlic.
“It’s very sticky and easily mashed, so I
peeled and mashed it and made toasted
crostini with cream cheese, a spread
of black garlic and a garnish of diced
tomatoes. They flipped over it,” he says.
He has also roasted and chopped black garlic
and mixed it with roasted Dutch potatoes.
“A lot of people serve them [black garlic
cloves] as a condiment,” Fraker says.
“People like to eat them on an antipasto
platter. It’s almost like candy.”
“We’ve maintained our own proprietal
seed line all this time. We’ve never bought
or sold seeds,” Guibert says, noting that
other growers grow for appearance, shelf
life or to withstand shipping over great
distances, when flavor should be the most
important consideration.
It has a molasses flavor, says Tom Fraker,
corporate chef/kitchen manager for
produce supplier Melissa’s/ World Variety
Produce Inc., Los Angeles. The company
recently began selling separated
black cloves in 3-ounce
packs. Fraker was asked to
create something unique
for a group of grocery
Melissa’s/ World
Variety Produce Inc.
