Ricotta on Bread

Posted on by guseraph Leave a comment

Sometimes I’ll post recipe ideas as they pop up in my mind, without the detailed recipes, like how to make the bread from scratch. Most of the time it’ll be because I feel like other recipes are better than mine. For example, sourdough bread. I, like a bunch of other people in quarantine, tried to keep a sourdough starter going for a few weeks until it turned watery and started smelling weird. That’s when I said fuck it and threw it out. I’ll buy my sourdough from the pros, thank you very much. This recipe is simple enough, buy the stuff and put it together. Ricotta is best when made at home, so I linked the recipe.

Ingredients
– Sourdough
– Ricotta cheese
– Fresh or dry oregano
– Honey
– Finishing salt

Cut the sourdough into half-inch slices and fry it in neutral flavored oil. It’s so much healthier than toasting it. Just kidding, it’s probably terrible for you but it’s oh-so-delicious. Remove from pan and drain on a wire rack or paper towel to drip off that excess oil. Add a healthy scoop of ricotta on the bread, drizzle with honey, sprinkle some oregano and salt. Perfect pre-dinner amuse-bouche.

Garlic Honey

Posted on by guseraph 2 Comments

Garlic fermented in honey has been one of those things that has stuck with me since I discovered it from Brad Leone’s many fermentation recipes. It goes so well with Korean food that I have had to make jar after jar of it. Korean food uses a lot of sugar and a lot of garlic, most times together, so why not? It’s as easy as peeling some garlic, sticking it in a jar, and covering it in your favorite honey.

A few points of interest. Not all honey is created equal. There’s stuff that comes from China that is tainted with different syrups and is not really honey, so shop local. After making a few different batches of this stuff, I have realized you get a different end product depending on if you crush your garlic or not. I don’t mean completely smashing the garlic, just a light crush to activate that allicin. When you do crush it, the garlic turns into this gummy-candy textured nugget and when you leave it intact, it’s this crunchy clove of sweet garlic.

My taste buds are not powerful enough to tell you the difference between different types of garlic but I’m sure there is something to play with there. Most of the jars I have made have just been the regular garlic that comes from the supermarket, except for the one I made with elephant garlic. It’s definitely milder, but that’s as far as I can describe it.

The longer it goes, the better. I have a three year old jar that has turned the honey into this black liquid that tastes like fermented black garlic (figures, I know). When you first submerge the garlic in honey, it’ll take about a week or two to release a bunch of garlicky gases that will stink up your kitchen in the best way possible. Hence, why the lid should not be closed all the way unless you want to “burp it” (open it every day). I would say the optimal time to let it sit before consuming it is at least two months. It’s a long time to wait, but that’s just my suggestion. I know I have had a few spoonfuls of honey at different times of fermentation.

Ingredients:
– Garlic (peeled)
– Honey

Place peeled garlic in jar, cover in honey. Done. If you so desire, and I recommend it, crush the garlic cloves slightly with the flat part of a knife before placing in jar.