Chef Alfredo Vozmediano's trick to avoid chopping garlic in the kitchen: “You make it finer”

I confess that I hate peeling and chopping garlic, but most of the stir-fries that I use as a base for absolutely everything, from stews to rice, stir-fries and pasta dishes, contain it. That's why I've been looking for a formula for a while to avoid having to peel and chop garlic every time I start cooking, and it was Alfredo Vozmediano who had the perfect solution.

The chef, who is dedicated to training and gastronomic dissemination on his social networks, has worked in restaurants such as Noma, Enjoy and Maaemo, with three Michelin stars. And it is in those restaurants where he learned the trick to never having to chop garlic again, or at least to do it only once and always have it available. As he himself explained on his social networks, he learned it by working in a restaurant. Believe me, it's so easy that you'll wonder why you haven't done it before.

You need to peel a head of garlic (or two or three, depending on the amount you want to make) and add the cloves to a food processor, but “if you crush it as is, it will rise over the edges and not stay well,” explains Vozmediano, so cover them with water and crush to obtain “a much finer minced garlic” that you then only have to strain. “Now you can freeze them in cubes and store them in individual portions so you can just take them out and use them,” he explains.

It is important that the garlic drains the water well, so leave it for a few minutes in a fine strainer before transferring it to an ice bucket and covering it well with plastic wrap so that it does not pick up odors. Once it has frozen, take out the portions and store them in a closed bag to always have them on hand.

As if one idea were not enough, the chef gives us a second option that we can have in the refrigerator with which we will also get an oil flavored with garlic. “Another trick is to fry them all at once in olive oil over medium heat,” he explains. In this case it is important to stir it well and without stopping until they are toasted. “You can store it in jars in the refrigerator for weeks,” says the chef, who adds that “we can literally put it on everything.” For example, as a topping in a salad, in a sautéed vegetable (at the end so that it aromatizes but does not burn) or in any stew to give it extra flavor.

With these ideas you will save a lot of time in the kitchen and you will be less lazy to make any recipe.