Book of Days Tales

On this date in 1897 Bram Stoker’s Dracula was first published.  I first read the book when I was 12 years old.  I bought a used copy for cheap from a book stall near Adelaide train station on one of my Saturday jaunts. It cost the equivalent of about 25 cents in today’s money.  I started reading it on the train on the way home, and could not put it down until I was finished. At the time I found the style of the writing rather strange, but engaging.  I suspect that very few people nowadays actually read the book, but know the basics from movies and such.  This is a pity. Even the attempt at sticking to the original in the movie Bram Stoker’s Dracula was more or less of a flop in my estimation.  Despite the title, the movie did not follow the book particularly closely, and some performances, notably that of Keanu Reeves, were dismal failures. 

What else could I produce for recipes but garlic dishes? Not dishes with garlic in them, but dishes where garlic is the headline star. You get a two-fer today: a garlic sauce from Transylvania, and a garlic soup.  The garlic sauce is a modern recipe and I have no idea what its roots are.  It is superb, though, especially with grilled meats such as lamb or beef.  Grill the meat until it is nearly ready, then spread the sauce thickly on top of it while still on the grill to warm through and suffuse the meat. Or you can serve the sauce chilled at the table for guests to help themselves. The combination of roasted and plain garlic cloves makes the flavor of the soup complex, and using 44 cloves of garlic in total makes it robust.  I recommend making the soup the day before and refrigerating over night for the flavors to marry and mature.

Mujdei De Usturoi, Transylvanian Garlic Sauce

Ingredients:

1 head garlic, broken into cloves and peeled
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp kosher salt or table salt
½ cup sour cream
black pepper to taste

Instructions:

Use a mortar and pestle to crush the garlic and salt together into a paste. You can also use a garlic press and then mash the garlic to a paste in a bowl with the back of a spoon. (Or you can use a mini blender or food processor and process, in which case you would add the garlic and oil together.)

Put the garlic paste into a small bowl, and add the oil. Whip with a fork until it becomes fluffy. Add the sour cream and continue to whip until all of the garlic is incorporated. Add freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Garlic Soup

Ingredients:

26 garlic cloves (unpeeled)
18 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons (¼ stick) butter
2 ¼ cups sliced onions
1 ½ teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
3 ½ cups chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth
½ cup whipping cream
½ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (about 2 ounces)
4 lemon wedges

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place 26 garlic cloves in a small glass baking dish. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and bake until the garlic is golden brown and tender, about 45 minutes. Cool. Squeeze the garlic between your fingertips to separate the meat from the skin. Discard the skin and put the garlic in a small bowl.

Melt the butter in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and thyme and cook until the onions are translucent but have not taken on color, about 6 minutes. Add the roasted garlic and 18 raw garlic cloves and cook 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock. Cover and simmer until the garlic is very tender, about 20 minutes.

Purée the soup in a blender or food processor until smooth (working in batches if necessary). Return the soup to the saucepan, add the cream and bring to simmer. Remove from the heat.

Season with salt and pepper.

Divide the grated cheese among 4 bowls and ladle the soup over it. Squeeze the juice of 1 lemon wedge into each bowl and serve.

Serves 4