Roasted and Caramelized with a Remarkable Aioli

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I love the padron peppers and brussels sprouts that I receive in my CSA box and think that they are little jewels from heaven. They are both very well suited for either pan frying or roasting with the basic olive oil, salt and pepper mixture and are absolutely delicious eaten just like that. No muss, no fuss. However, the fickle side of me always wants to find something different along with a way to elevate the ingredients to new heights. So what did I do this time? I roasted and caramelized them and served them with a remarkable aioli!

black-garlic-home

I had been in San Francisco and visited one of my favorite sites; The Ferry Building. There, you will find a cadre of incredible vendors selling the most delicious and wonderful wares. One of my favorites there is Far West Fungi. It is a merchant who sells a wonderful selection of fresh and dried mushrooms along with other related items. It was there that I purchased my head of black garlic. Black garlic is sweet meets savory, a perfect mix of molasses-like richness and tangy garlic undertones. It has a tender, almost jelly-like texture with a melt-in-your-mouth consistency similar to a soft dried fruit. This was the second recipe that I made using it (the other to be posted next – Heirloom Tomato & Summer Squash Tart.) However, not to worry, because if you aren’t planning a trip to San Francisco soon, you can get almost the same result from roasting a regular head of garlic which will create a sweet and savory flavor with a similar soft dried fruit consistency.

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OVEN ROASTED PADRON PEPPERS & BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH BLACK GARLIC AIOLI

Ingredients

  • 1/2 lb. padron peppers, stems removed
  • 1/2 lb. brussels sprouts, outer leaves removed and cut in halves
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
  • Kosher salt
  • freshly ground pepper
  • 4 cloves black garlic
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 tsp lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup Extra Virgin olive oil

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°.
  2. Coat the peppers and brussels sprouts with 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and roast in the oven for 10 minutes. Carefully stir the vegetables and continue to roast for an additional 10-15 minutes or until they start to caramelize and turn crisp on the edges. 
  3. While the vegetables are roasting, prepare the aioli. Mash the cloves of garlic with a dash of Kosher salt. Whisk in the egg yolk and lemon juice until you can see black flecks but no chunks of garlic visible. Slowly add the Extra Virgin olive oil and whisk to emulsify. Season with additional lemon juice and salt/pepper to your taste.
  4. Serve the aioli with the roasted vegetables.

Note:  If you don’t have black garlic, follow these instructions to roast a head of regular garlic and use 4 of the cloves, reserving the others for another recipe or to enjoy slathered on a piece of toast with a light sprinkling of flake salt!

roasted garlic

  1. Preheat oven to 400°
  2. Peel off the loose skin
  3. Cut off the top of the head so the garlic is exposed on top
  4. Make sure all cloves are exposed by using a paring knife to tip off the top of any hidden cloves
  5. Place a piece of tin foil underneath and drizzle about 1 tsp of olive oil over all of the exposed cloves
  6. Wrap the head in the foil and place on an oven safe dish
  7. Roast in the oven for 35-55 minutes until the cloves are golden in color
  8. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes and gently squeeze the cloves out of each skin

(Printable recipe can be found in the recipe index under Side Dishes)

 

 

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