Garlic Broth

By Martha Rose Shulman

Garlic Broth
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
1 hour
Rating
4(126)
Comments
Read comments

Whole cloves of garlic, uncut and simmered gently for an hour with aromatics, yield a mild, sweet tasting, comforting broth that makes an ideal vegetarian stand-in for chicken broth. According to nutritionist Johnny Bowden, garlic needs to be crushed, sliced, or chopped in order for its compounds to be released. For this broth, I just crush the cloves lightly by leaning on them with the flat side of my knife. The less crushed they are, the milder the broth will taste.

Featured in: A Simple Broth With a Mild Kick

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Ingredients

Yield:2 quarts
  • 2heads garlic
  • 2quarts water
  • 1tablespoon olive oil
  • A bouquet garni made with a bay leaf, a couple of sprigs each thyme and parsley, and a fresh sage leaf
  • Salt to taste
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (16 servings)

1 calories; 0 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 0 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 0 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 0 grams protein; 16 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Bring a medium saucepan full of water to a boil. Fill a bowl with ice and water. Separate the head of garlic into cloves and drop them into the boiling water. Blanch for 30 seconds, then transfer to the ice water. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then drain and remove the skins from the garlic cloves. They’ll be loose and easy to remove. Lightly crush the cloves by pressing on them with the flat side of a chef’s knife.

  2. Step 2

    Place the garlic cloves in a large saucepan with the remaining ingredients and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer 1 hour. Strain. Taste and adjust salt.

Ratings

4 out of 5
126 user ratings
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Comments

Caroline228

Toss garlic into a glass mason jar and give a good shake, et voila, peeled garlic. Great broth base. I use it often.

Susan

There are wonderful garlic peelers available that are heavy rubber sleeves--you place a few cloves in the sleeve, roll it on the counter, and shake the peeled cloves out one end. No boiling water required.

Emily

We aren't vegetarian, but we don't like chicken broth, homemade or from a box. I have always, always riffed on the broth from the original Moosewood cookbook. I have never thought to do a veg broth like this. LOVED it. Excellent substitute for chicken broth. The fresh sage is important here.

Susannah318

Rather than taking apart and peeling individual cloves from 2 heads of garlic, could you just cut off the tops of the two heads?

Makes a light broth base but wish it were soup

It was a lot of work just for broth but not enough "there" there to just add vegetables and noodles for soup.

Not sure what to think

It's nice but too mild to stand on its own as soup. At the same time it feels like too much work to "stand in for chicken broth." Not sure what to do with it.

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