There's probably someone sneezing into your air space right now. Cold and flu season are in full swing and, if you haven't been exposed yet, you will be. Oh, you will be. Beyond washing your hands or just staying in your home 24/7, you could add a little spice to your food to help keep your immune system in full fighting mode.
Raw garlic may not be palatable on its own (or it may be, some people dig it), but if you include it in a delicious dish, your garlicky medicine will go down much easier.
Try these five recipes with raw garlic and see if you don't have a healthier season.
Guacamole
An incredibly easy and delicious remedy is guacamole with raw minced garlic. A really simple recipe will have you chowing down in no time.
What you'll need:
6 avocados
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lime
1 1/2 cups red onion, chopped
4 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
Halve and pit avocados, squeeze half of lime over top, and mash to desired consistency. Stir in spices. Add tomatoes, onion, and cilantro. Squeeze remaining lime in and mix all together.
Bulgarian Cucumber Dip
From Kate's Global Kitchen, she also touts the benefits of garlic. Did you know people used garlic to stave off the plague? Surely it can help with your sniffles.
What you'll need:
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 cup shelled walnuts
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and finely chopped
1 teaspoon vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
2-4 tablespoons water as needed
salt
Process garlic and nuts in a food processor or grind in a mortar and pestle to form a smooth paste. Stir in the remaining ingredients, thinning with water as needed, and add salt to taste. Serve with breads, crackers, or crudites.
Eggplant Aubergine With Raw Garlic
From the Family Oven, I tried this out but substituted yellow squash and zucchini for eggplant, since someone in my family has an eggplant allergy. The eggplant could probably constitute a meal, while the squash would be more appropriate as a side.
1 large eggplant
Olive oil, as needed
4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
Wash eggplant well; cut off stem portion (leave peel on). Slice eggplant into quarter-inch slices and brush each side with extra virgin olive oil. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and brown eggplant slices until they are golden brown on each side. On a serving platter, arrange cooked eggplant slices. In a small measuring cup, combine the garlic, lemon juice, the 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, and salt. Drizzle over the eggplant slices, sprinkle with parsley, and serve.
Puttanesca Sauce
At the raw food site, Raw Epicurean, they have a non-meat recipe for "neatballs" with this raw puttanesca sauce. I used turkey meatballs (and they were cooked), and used regular sea salt instead of the Celtic.
What you'll need:
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
1 cup Roma tomatoes
2 tablespoons Kalamata olives
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup onions, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons Italian parsley
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon chili pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon Celtic sea salt (or regular sea salt)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
In a food processor, combine all of the ingredients and blend until smooth.
Raw Lasagna With Corn Sauce
Another veg and raw dish, this very complicated recipe for lasagna with a corn sauce uses a dehydrator and "rawmesan" instead of Parmesan. Not for the faint of heart, here's the labor-intensive and grocery store-intensive instructions from Epicurious.
Marinara Sauce
2 cups dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes, soaked for 1 to 4 hours in filtered water and drained
4 Roma tomatoes, halved and seeded
12 cherry tomatoes, or 3 additional Roma tomatoes, halved and seeded
4 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon Celtic salt (or regular sea salt)
1 tablespoon chopped shallot
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
8 fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
1 cup sweet corn kernels
1/4 cup minced onion
4 cups cremini mushrooms, sliced 1/8 inch thick
2 tablespoons nama shoyu (see tips, below)
2 1/2 cloves garlic, smashed
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 zucchini, each 8 to 10 inches long and 1 1/2 inches in diameter
1 bunch spinach, stems removed
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into chiffonade
Celtic sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 1/4 cups Herb Cheese
Corn Sauce
1/2 cup sweet corn kernels
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup filtered water
Celtic sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Salad
20 grape tomatoes, halved
3 cups tiny lettuces
6 tablespoons shaved Rawmesan
1/2 cup sweet corn kernels
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup filtered water
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
Celtic sea salt and freshly ground pepper
8 teaspoons Basil Oil
Freshly ground pepper
To make the Marinara Sauce: In a food processor, pulse the sun-dried tomatoes until reduced to small pieces. Add the Roma tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, garlic, salt, shallot, olive oil, maple syrup, and lemon juice and process until smooth. Add the basil, oregano, and thyme and pulse for about 4 minutes, or until the herbs are chopped.
Combine the corn and onion, spread on a dehydrator shelf, and dehydrate at 105°F for 1 hour, or until softened. (This brief drying helps to reduce the harsh flavor of the vegetables.) Set aside until needed.
Combine the mushrooms, shoyu, garlic, and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a bowl and let stand for 20 minutes. Drain, cover, and set aside until needed.
Using a mandoline, cut the zucchini lengthwise into wide, paper-thin slices. Set aside until needed.
Just before assembling the lasagna, combine the spinach, basil, a pinch of salt, and the remaining two tablespoons olive oil in a bowl and toss to mix.
To assemble the lasagna: Line a 7 by 3 by 3-inch metal terrine mold with detachable sides with plastic wrap, allowing an overhang on the long sides. Arrange a layer of the zucchini "noodles" in the terrine, covering the bottom and the sides and allowing the noodles to overhang the rim by 2 inches. Layer on top, in the following order: a double layer of mushrooms; half of the Herb Cheese; a layer of spinach 3 leaves deep; half of the Marinara Sauce; half of the corn and onion; a sprinkle of salt and pepper; a double layer of zucchini noodles, one running horizontally and one running vertically; the remaining mushrooms in two layers, the remaining Herb Cheese, a layer of spinach 3 leaves deep, the remaining Marinara Sauce, the remaining corn and onion, a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and the remaining spinach leaves in 1 layer. Pull up on the plastic wrap to tighten the sides, then fold over the overhanging pieces of zucchini. Patch with more zucchini as needed to cover fully with a zucchini layer. Cover with the overhanging plastic wrap and press down firmly. Refrigerate for 3 hours. Detach the mold sides, remove the plastic-wrapped terrine from the mold, and tighten the plastic wrap by pulling a long edge taut. With the plastic wrap still in place, cut the terrine into 8 slices each a scant 1 inch thick. Carefully remove the plastic wrap from each slice. The layers may shift slightly, but you can easily push them back together.
To make the Corn Sauce: In a high-speed blender, combine the corn, olive oil, and water and purée until smooth. Pass through a fine-mesh sieve and season to taste with salt and pepper.
To make the salad: Combine tomatoes, lettuces, Rawmesan, lemon juice, and olive oil in a bowl and toss to mix. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Assembly—
Place a slice of the terrine just below the center of each plate. Arrange one-fourth of the salad at 12 o'clock. Spoon one-fourth of the Corn Sauce to the right of the terrine slice and drizzle 2 teaspoons Basil Oil over the Corn Sauce. Top with pepper.
Images (top to bottom): norwichnuts/Flickr, The Family Oven, House of Sims/Flickr
