Recipes for garlic lovers
Garlic can be a divisive topic, we have friends who say they love it and others who hate it. We can recall the jolly jape when someone was given a tube of garlic purée and a toothbrush as a birthday present, such was their love of the pungent bulb.
Tony Turnbull has created a selection of delicious sounding recipes for the Times in which the key ingredient is garlic, with a note about getting the best from each clove, be it raw, sliced, grated, crushed, fried or roasted. Romas Foord has photographed two of the dishes in Netherton Foundry Prospector Pans. Of course garlic is also famous for its power over vampires, and this belief is grounded in fact (not the existence of vampires).
It’s a common belief that garlic repels vampires, but did you know that some of that belief is grounded in fact? Garlic, specifically the chemical compound allicin inside garlic, is a powerful antibiotic. Some European beliefs around vampires stated they were created by a disease of the blood, so a powerful antibiotic would “kill” a vampire.
An actual disorder of the blood, porphyria, may also be an origin for this belief: porphyria can cause those who suffer from it to look pale and even make their teeth look bigger because their gums shrink. Garlic makes these symptoms worse, so people with porphyria would often avoid it—making others around them believe they were vampires.
We offer no guarantees about the efficacy of this approach, but if any vampires make it past the garlic, you can whack them with a pan! So whether you are inviting Count Dracula to dinner or not, and don’t forget, vampires have to be invited over the threshold to gain entry to your home, check out these recipes for fangtastic tastiness.
The Times article from the 17.6.23 is here . This is behind a paywall, you can find subscription offers, including a free month’s trial here.
