The kind folks at Marx Foods sent me some amazing black garlic to sample awhile back. There's something about garlic and smashed potatoes that makes me happy, so I thought to myself, "how about black garlic smashed taters?"
Black garlic is amazing. It's got a sweet, umami flavor that packs a lighter punch than conventional garlic. It is, in fact, conventional garlic, but it has been fermented at a high temperature for a month, resulting in softened, sweetened, and blackened cloves. Read all about it here: www.marxfoods.com/Fermented-Black-Garlic
Here's how to make the black garlic spuds:
* 3 pounds waxy potatoes, quartered and boiled until tender
* 2 cups half and half (Cedar Summit)
* 3 tbsp butter (Hope Creamery)
* 6 cloves black garlic mashed into bits
* 5 ounces Cedar Grove Cheddar Cheese
* salt and pepper
Directions:
Boil potatoes until tender. Drain the pot. Leave spuds in pot.
While that boils, smash up your black garlic.
In a saucepan, warm half and half and butter to a light simmer. When it gets to simmering, turn off the pot and pour it over the spuds. Mash together. Fold in cheese, garlic, salt and pepper to taste.
I served mine up with some baked Fischer Farms pork tenderloin and steamed green beans from the garden, which were hiding in the deep freeze.
