If you didn't know better, you'd assume black garlic spent too much time in the oven. But this little-known ingredient isn't burnt; it's fermented until it achieves the sweet, mellow flavor that's making chefs across the country swoon.
Bruce Hill, the chef of San Francisco's BIX restaurant, fell in love with black garlic's earthy flavor while traveling in Japan. He found it to be less bracing than the raw stuff, and discovered that its subtle balsamic-vinegar flavor pairs especially well with olives and roasted peppers. In addition, he's added it to barbecue sauces and used it as a garnish for crudo.
Black garlic's also a new favorite of chef Elizabeth Falkner, who mixes it into steak tartare at her SF restaurant, Orson. In Los Angeles, Rivera chef John Rivera Sedlar tosses his chilaca-chile salad with a black garlic vinaigrette. And Eric Ripert of New York's Le Bernardin finishes pan-roasted monkfish with a punchy black garlic and Persian lemon sauce.
To try the mellow-flavored allium at home, order whole heads of black garlic online from MondoFood.com or SauceNSpice.com, then start experimenting: Blend the cloves into olive tapenade or smash them into scrambled eggs or risotto.
