Holy Cow! Quick and Easy Vegan Recipes

Easy, tasty vegan recipes

Mojo de Ajo

By Vaishali | Updated on | Posted on | 16 Comments

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Mojo de AjoFew 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!

Dip these vegan sourdough pretzels into the mojo. Or use it to make these garlicky roasted brussels sprouts.

Print Recipe
5 from 3 votes

Mojo de Ajo

Rick Bayless's Mojo de Ajo
Course: Condiment
Cuisine: Mexican
Author: Vaishali · Holy Cow! Vegan Recipes

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.

(C) All recipes and photographs copyright of Holy Cow! Vegan Recipes.

About Vaishali


I cook and eat simple, tasty and nutritious plant-based food in my Washington, D.C. kitchen, but I never fight a craving for samosas or French fries. Read more about me here.

Comments

  5. Zengirl @ Heart and Mind says

    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.

    Reply

  10. Amey says

    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!

    Reply

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