Cooking web notes

Mojo de Ajo

I am hooked on this stuff! 

A while back, I was watching “Mexico – One Plate at a Time” on PBS when Chef Rick Bayless of Frontera Grill in Chicago, along with his daughter, made Mojo de Ajo.  The title of the show was “Liquid Gold” and believe me, it is!

 If you are crazy about garlic infused olive oil and haven’t made it yourself, now is the time!  This is soooo good!  Rick says that he always has a jar of it in the refrigerator and from now on I will also.  It can be used to sauté about any meat, vegetables, pasta dishes or even on pizza.

Mojo de Ajo (garlic sauce) keeps in the refrigerator for 3 months.  It is easy to make and definitely worth its weight in gold.  Here are some suggestions for using it:

• Dipping sauce for bread.
• Spread over pizza crust and top with shredded mozzarella cheese.
• A brushetta topping.
• Add it to soups.
• Toasted French bread.
• Brown a roast in it.
• Add it to salad dressings.
• Over most meats:  steak, chicken, pork.
• With vegetables:  roast potatoes slathered with mojo de ajo.
• Add it to pasta sauces.
• With fish and seafood, such as shrimp scampi.
• Marinades.
• On popcorn!

You can use it for practically anything.  If you really like garlic the way I do, you have got to try this!  In Rick’s words:  “take it out of refrigerate and enjoy some deliciousness.” 

Mojo de Ajo

Garlic Mojo

Ingredients:

4 large heads garlic

     OR 10 ounces (about 1¾ cups) peeled garlic cloves

2 cups fruity olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup lime juice

Method:

Heat oven to 325 degrees.

Break the heads of garlic apart, then mash each clove (a fist against the side of a knife is what I do) to release the clove from its paper skin.

If using already-peeled garlic, scoop the cloves into a heavy recloseable plastic bag and use a rolling pin to mash them slightly.

Stir together the garlic, oil and salt in an 8x8-inch pan (make sure the garlic is submerged).

Slide it into the oven and bake until the garlic is soft and lightly brown, about 45 to 55 minutes.  (Mine browned in 40 minutes.)

Add the lime juice and return to the oven for 20 minutes for the garlic to absorb the lime and turn golden brown.

Using an old-fashioned potato masher or large fork, mash the garlic into a coarse puree.

Pour the mixture into a wide-mouth storage container and refrigerate it until you’re ready to use it.

This mojo will keep for up to 3 months in the refrigerator as long as there’s enough oil to keep the garlic covered.

Makes about 3 cups

If you really like garlic the way I do, you have got to try this!

Be sure to visit my friend Linda’s blog @My Kind of Cooking for great tips, recipes and cookbook giveaway!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 5:52 AM and is filed under Garlic, Mexican, Sauces/Marinades. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response.