Monday, November 4, 2024

Make Ahead Marijuana-Infused Garlic Bread For Winning Dinner

Garlic bread feels like an afterthought, but for the carb obsessed among us, having a dish with any sauce feels incomplete without a bread mop. Growing up, garlic bread was a staple in my house, mostly fresh, sometimes with jarred garlic, and chives from the yard. It was there for mom’s Sunday sauce (we don’t call it gravy) and for steak night too, and even as a tot I devoured spicy, bitter, buttery piles of the stuff. What’s better than all that? This marijuana-infused garlic bread.

Ganja and garlic are a culinary team best for a day off, when you can not only savor the high, but smell like garlic in peace at home. Making this ahead is like giving your future self an amazing gift. The best way to make it, IMHO, is to make two smaller loaves, one for now, and freeze the other. This will also help you not overdo it, potency wise. Stuff this delicious is how we all end up in the rabbit hole, but if that’s where you want to go, by all means chow down.

My version has sharp, nutty, umami bomb Pecorino Romano, as well as a dual approach to the garlic. By making a confit with some cloves and using others raw, you get the zip of raw garlic with the sweet depth of roasted cloves, so it’s got bite without burn.

Photos by Danielle Guercio

“Forget About It” Garlic Bread

Danielle Guercio, 2017

  • 1 head of garlic plus a few cloves
  • ½ stick of cannabutter*
  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 demi-baguettes (or one full size Italian/French loaf)
  • 1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
  • a handful of chives
  • a few leaves of parsley
  • Salt
  • Pepper
Photos by Danielle Guercio

To peel garlic quickly, put whole thing in a jar, shake vigorously for 30 seconds.

Photos by Danielle Guercio

Badabing!

Place ¾ of the whole garlic cloves in an oven safe container with olive oil, cover with foil and place on a baking sheet. Bake the garlic and oil at 275 degrees for 30 minutes until cloves are translucent and soft.

Photos by Danielle Guercio

Remove from oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

Photos by Danielle Guercio

In the meantime, mince remaining garlic and chives, add to a mixing bowl. Once cool, pour garlic and oil mixture into bowl with cold cannabutter. Mash ingredients with a fork, try to not completely purée, just mix well.

Photos by Danielle Guercio

Fold in grated cheese and add salt and pepper to taste. Spread on halved loaf with a spatula or the back of a spoon, sprinkle with parsley. Flash freeze for 30 min on baking sheet, open faced to allow halves to be frozen separately.

Photos by Danielle Guercio

Wrap the loaf you’re putting aside in parchment paper so that the spread sides aren’t touching, wrap again in foil and place in freezer bag. This will stay fresh for about 6 months in the freezer, if it will last that long!

Photos by Danielle Guercio

To make the remaining loaf that you’re salivating over, turn the oven up to 300 degrees. Bake for 10-15 minutes just until crisped up but not too browned, you don’t want to zap the strength out of it!. To attack the frozen loaf down the road, put the foil-wrapped parcel directly out of the freezer into the oven for 5 minutes. Take out and unwrap, bake open faced on a baking sheet another 10 minutes.

*Cannabutter:

Decarboxylate 3.5g of finely ground cannabis at 225 degrees for 20 minutes in a tightly sealed, oven safe container. Put in lidded mason jar or vacuum sealed bag with cannabis and 1 stick of unsalted butter. Heat in water bath just under boiling for at least 1 hour. Strain and chill to use in recipes.

Photos by Danielle Guercio

You can slice this bread before freezing into chunks so you can have single servings, which are as phenomenal as sandwich buns as they are dipped in soups and stews. Garlic bread is always delicious, but this one is a little more complex in flavor. Chives are a garlicky, onion-ey herb that lend even more curiosity to the blend. Not into bread? Make this same garlic-butter-herb rub and smother some vegetables in it, just bake well covered or in an oven bag to preserve the strength.

 

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