Few recipes have made me as excited and eager to get into the kitchen and start peeling four nail-burning heads of garlic as when I saw Rick Bayless stir up some garlic-gold alchemy on public television with his Mojo de Ajo.
Mojo de Ajo, which apparently translates into a bath of garlic, is a traditional Mexican dish with infinitely delicious possibilities, and you can see why. Think of a ton of spicy garlic drowned in fruity olive oil and then kissed alive by tangy lemon juice. It’s magic.
Mojo de Ajo is great on almost anything: drizzle a few drops on toast or a salad, stir it into pasta, even toss some root vegetables in it and roast them. And of course, there’s a plethora of Mexican dishes you can add it to for some extra mojo at the dinner table.
So here it is, Rick Bayless’s incredible Mojo de Ajo, which I used today to spice up an extra-special dish of penne with herbs and roasted mushrooms. It was worth firing up the oven on a near-100-degree day.
Enjoy!
Mojo de Ajo
Ingredients
- 4 heads of garlic , peeled (place a large chef's knife on each pod of garlic and smack it with the heel of your hand to get the papery skin off more easily)
- 2 cups olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
Instructions
- Place the garlic in an 8-inch-square glass baking dish and pour the olive oil over it. Add salt and stir well.
- Place the dish in a 325-degree oven and bake 45 minutes.
- Add the lemon juice and bake for another 20 minutes for the flavors to infuse.
- Remove, mash the garlic with a fork or potato masher, cool, and pour it all into an air-tight glass jar. The mojo de ajo keeps for at least three months in a refrigerator.
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Oh that sounds so delicious!! And its so versatile-garlic goes with just about anything savory!!
Thanks for sharing. I am always on a look out for garlic recipes. A superfood and natural medicinal magic pearls. This one can stay for long I suppose.
Wow – this makes me want to pack up from work and go home to make it!!! This must taste really great.
Thanks
I can think of all different applications for Mojo de Ajo. Thanks for sharing!
Yes! This sounds really good… I can’t wait to make it…and then put it in and on everything. Thank you for sharing!
Nice…
wow, that sounds great! I pretty much can’t ever get enough garlic. I haven’t explored Rick Bayless’ recipes, but I have been meaning to… sounds like he has so many great ideas. thanks for sharing this!
The combination of olive oil, garlic is just enough to have my husband interested. I am sure he will love this.
You were awarded a Sunshine Blog Award at my blog! Thanks for the inspiration!
Matt
My Veggie Kitchen
You make me crave for a piece of toasted bread drizzled with Mojo de Ajo.
My husband will love this recipe…he is a garlic fiend!
Vaishali,
I love Rick Bayless’s program, Mexico, one plate a time. Although I do not get to see much lately. This recipe I did not know.
I love garlic, onions and all, so this might be just yummy enough to make it for me. Thanks for sharing.
That really looks so good..thanks for sharing..I love garlic..
I just made this! So tasty! I did add some fresh mint to it because there was some handy 🙂
Sugendran, fresh mint sounds like a great idea!