Black Garlic Gravy

Black garlic is ordinary garlic held warm for weeks until the sugars caramelise, so it goes soft, sticky and almost sweet, somewhere between balsamic vinegar and dried fig. It carries no garlic bite at all. Four cloves in a jug of gravy give it a dark, faintly sweet depth that suits steak, roast beef and ox cheek particularly well.

Ingredients

Makes about 400ml, enough for four plates

• 20g butter plus 15g cold butter to finish
• 2 shallots finely chopped
• 4 cloves black garlic peeled, about 15g
• 150ml (5fl oz) red wine something you would drink
• 450ml (16fl oz) hot beef stock a good strong one
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 1 tbsp cold water
• 1 tsp sherry vinegar
• salt and black pepper to taste

Kit

• Heavy saucepan
• Small bowl
• Fork
• Fine sieve

Method

1. Mash the black garlic cloves to a smooth paste in a small bowl with the back of a fork. They are sticky and will fight you slightly, so add a teaspoon of the cold stock to loosen them if it helps.

2. Melt the 20g of butter in a heavy pan over a medium heat and cook the shallots for five minutes until translucent and soft, without letting them brown.

3. Add the black garlic paste and stir it through the shallots for one minute. It will darken the pan considerably and start to smell sweet and slightly of treacle.

4. Pour in the red wine, turn the heat up and let it bubble hard for four or five minutes until it has reduced by two thirds and looks syrupy at the edges of the pan.

5. Add the hot stock and bring to a simmer. Cook uncovered for ten minutes, letting it reduce a little and giving the garlic time to spread through the whole thing.

6. Mix the cornflour with the cold water and whisk it in, then simmer for one minute until the gravy just clings to a spoon. Do not overdo the thickening, this one is better on the thin side.

7. Strain it through a fine sieve into a clean pan, pressing the solids hard. Off the heat, whisk in the cold butter until it disappears and the gravy turns glossy.

8. Add the sherry vinegar, season, and taste. It should be dark, savoury and faintly sweet, with the sweetness sitting well behind the beef.

Tips worth knowing

• Four cloves in 400ml is generous but not overwhelming. Six or more and the gravy starts to taste of prunes, and the sweetness gets in the way of the meat.
• Black garlic is expensive and worth mashing thoroughly. Whole cloves left in will sit in the sieve and you will have paid for flavour you then throw away.
• Do not substitute roasted ordinary garlic. It is sweet but in a completely different way, more sulphurous and less like dried fruit, and you will need to rebalance the vinegar.
• Replace the wine with 150ml of extra stock plus two teaspoons of balsamic vinegar if you want this without alcohol. It works well, because balsamic and black garlic are close cousins in flavour.

Keeping and reheating

Keeps three days in the fridge. The butter finish means it is best freshly made, but it reheats acceptably if you warm it gently and whisk. Freeze it before the butter goes in and finish it when you reheat.

Questions people ask