Pizza Today - May 2022 - 41

different climates and have a very high
yield.
Rocambole is the most common type of
hardneck garlic. It has large, easy to peel
cloves with a much more intense flavor
than softnecks. The downside is that the
shelf life is only four to five months. Garlic
scapes, the fragrant, flavor bombs that are
so sought after during the late spring to
early summer months, come from this type
of garlic.
No matter what type you prefer,
there are so many fun ways to use
garlic at your restaurant. It acts great
as a base for white pizzas instead of making
a cream sauce. You can blend it with fresh
herbs or greens, Parmesan and nuts for
pesto or make a classic marinara pie with
paper-thin slices of garlic, olive oil and
oregano.
Some other garlicky pizza combinations
to try:
* Summer squash and zucchini ribbons,
roasted garlic, ricotta and basil.
* Sautéed wild mushroom and garlic,
finished with stracciatella and oregano.
* House-made garlic sausage, roasted
garlic, mustard greens, mozzarella,
marinara, Parmesan.
* Roasted garlic, anchovies, marinara,
roasted eggplant, extra virgin olive oil.
* Garlic scapes, garlic oil, rainbow chard,
bacon, mozzarella, over easy eggs and fresh
herbs. (See recipe at right.)
* Pepperoni, fresh garlic, roasted
jalapeños, marinara, mozzarella and
Parmesan.
* Thinly sliced potatoes, roasted garlic,
Parmesan, thyme and mozzarella.
Garlic is also fantastic on other items
besides pizza. It can, and should, show
up in dressings, sauces, marinades and
seasonings. Think a roasted garlic marinade
for chicken wings or a garlicky Caesar
dressing. Then, of course, there is classic
garlic bread or garlic knots.
A lot of people's aversion
to garlic comes from how it's
handled while raw. As such, pizza
makers and chefs alike have strong
opinions on what the best way is to chop
up the raw cloves. Many believe (I would
say correctly) that if you simply mince
garlic in a food processor it leaves a slightly
bitter flavor. To prevent this you should
thinly slice it, either with a sharp knife
or on a micro plane. Depending on your
volume and how much garlic you use this
isn't always realistic. One way to counter
the bitterness is to mince it and then bath
it in extra virgin olive oil. The garlic flavors
the oil and the oil in return slows the garlic
from oxidizing and fermenting. This also
increases the shelf life of the raw garlic.
Another way to mellow the flavor of
garlic and add a whole other dimension
to it is to roast it. There are a few different
ways to do this, depending on how you're
using the finished product as well as how
much you're going through. The first is
to roast the whole head of garlic. You can
cut off the top of the plant, splash on a
little olive oil and either roast the head on
a sheet tray or wrap it in tin foil. This is a
great option if you have the time and want
to use a specific varietal of garlic or are
trying to use local garlic. Another way is to
buy bulk peeled, raw garlic cloves. You can
then cover them in olive oil and cook over a
low heat until the cloves become tender.
Garlic doesn't always need to be the star
of the show to add depth to a dish. It is
fantastic as a flavoring agent. A lot of the
roasted veggies I cook, I add a few smashed
garlic cloves to the pan to enhance the
flavor. The cloves also add a ton of flavor to
pickled vegetables.
Another form is garlic powder. While
it has a completely different flavor profile
than fresh garlic, it is something that can
be utilized in dressings, sauces, marinades
and seasoning. Also, depending on what
part of the country you are in, it can be an
in-demand condiment for slices and pies.
Garlic scapes, as I mentioned above,
are the curly green, thin stems that sprout
out of the ground in late spring to early
summer, which means right about now!
They have a very short window that they
are available and are insanely tender and
delicious with a much milder flavor than
the cloves. They are sometimes confused
with green garlic but the two are different.
Unlike the scape, which grows out of
the top of the garlic plant, green garlic is
immature garlic. It looks like an overgrown
scallion, and usually comes from the
softneck variety (as opposed to garlic
scapes, which are the hardback).
Whether you are a garlic lover or
minimalist user, there are plenty of ways
and forms to get your fix.
GREEN EGGS
AND GARLIC SCAPES:
400 g dough ball
8 ounces shredded mozzarella
4 leaves rainbow chard
1 bunch garlic scapes (about 5 scapes)
Garlic oil (about 2 ounces)
1 fresh eggs
4 strips of bacon
Fresh herbs, roughly chopped (basil,
thyme, oregano)
Olive oil and sea salt as needed
To make garlic oil, chop 4 cloves fresh
garlic and combine with 2 ounces extra
virgin olive oil. Set aside.
Wash and dry garlic scapes, then toss in
olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt.
Roast on sheet tray in the oven at 400 F
for 10 minutes or until tender. Set aside.
Stretch out dough ball. Sprinkle on
mozzarella evenly. Lay rainbow chard
leaves flat, on top of mozzarella. Place
bacon strips on top of chard. Add roasted
garlic scapes evenly across pizza, keeping
whole. Crack fresh eggs on pizza. Drizzle
on garlic oil.
Bake pizza at 625 for 7 minutes (if you
are going for a lower temperature, longer
bake time add eggs halfway through.)
Take out of the oven. Break egg yolk
across pizza. Note: the white should
be cooked through with a runny yolk.
Sprinkle on fresh herbs.
AUDREY KELLY owns Audrey Jane's
Pizza Garage in Boulder, Colorado.
Pizza Today - May 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pizza Today - May 2022
