We have a subscription from a garlic farm on the Isle of
Wight. This month they have sent us a strong flavoured variety called Solent
Wight. There will be more arriving in about 3 weeks so we had better start
using it. The boy loves garlic bread, so this is an interesting twist.
100g softened butter
1 fresh red chilli, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled & crushed
1 supermarket packet of coriander (cilantro) chopped
1 cross-cut Batard or Ciabatta loaf
Heat the oven to 220/Gas 7. It needs to be hot. As a
concession to the boy I am deseeding the chilli, though it will still have a
kick. Speaking of kicks it’s Wagner’s centenary year and I’m listening to
Kirsten Flagstad in Tristan & Isolde. She was the greatest Wagnerian
soprano, but past her prime so Elizabeth Schwarzkopf stood beside her to sing the
top notes. She modestly said “At the top of the range we all sound the same.”
Anyway. The boy peels the garlic by rubbing it in a rubber
tube we have for the purpose. This is his sole contribution to the recipe. To
chop it really finely, sprinkle a teaspoon of good salt on a chopping board, and
slice the garlic in each direction on top of the salt. As the pieces get finer,
crush them into the salt with the flat of the blade. Doing it this way means
that the salt acts as an abrasive agent, but it also soaks up all the oils that
you would otherwise lose.
Chop the chilli and coriander. Beat them with the garlic, and
any salt you pick up, into the butter with a fork until you’re happy it’s well mixed.
Cut the bread almost down to the bottom about 2cm/1” apart
and smear thickly with the butter mix. Wrap in foil and bake for 20-25 mins.
Great with soup or, as we are having, a watercress salad. If
you’ve put enough butter in, it will be oozy, so keep plenty of paper napkins
handy to wipe the boy’s chin. He loves garlic, he loves carbs, he loves you, he’s
in heaven. He puts up with the watercress salad.
