Ultimate cheesy garlic bread bake
Servings: 8
I know you might scan this recipe and baulk at the thought of 16 cloves of garlic in just one dish – particularly as it looks like a good one to take to parties. BUT if you were to break this down per person, it’s only two garlic cloves – which is quite manageable, and a good rule of thumb, if you ask me. And anyway, I’ve popped the parsley in there as a natural breath-freshener, so you’ll be right. Begin this recipe 1 day ahead.
1 day 15 minutes
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Ingredients
- 150 g 5½ oz unsalted butter roughly diced
- 16 garlic cloves peeled
- 1 cup parsley leaves plus extra to garnish
- 1 tbsp olive oil plus extra for drizzling
- 1 tbsp salt flakes plus extra for sprinkling
- 1 tbsp freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 x 600 g 1 lb 5 oz ciabatta loaf halved crossways
- 125 g 4½ oz grated raclette cheese (or gruyère or cheddar)
- 1½ cups 375 ml vegetable stock
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 2 tsp white sesame seeds
Instructions
- Heat the butter in a small saucepan until partially melted, or in a microwave for 30 seconds. Transfer to a small food processor with the garlic, parsley, olive oil, salt and pepper. Whiz until the parsley is finely chopped and the butter is green.
- Smear the garlic butter over bread halves and scatter with the cheese. Sandwich the halves back together, then use a serrated knife to cut the loaf into 3 cm (1¼ inch) thick slices. Arrange the slices snugly in a large roasting tin, so that the green butter oozes out a bit. Pour the stock over, making sure to coat each piece of bread. Soak overnight.
- The next day, preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
- Brush the bread tops with the egg and scatter with the sesame seeds. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until the crust is golden and crunchy to your liking.
- Sprinkle with parsley and salt, drizzle with more olive oil and serve as you might a pudding. Only savoury.
Notes
Tips
Once you’re confident with the dish, feel free to play with the flavours. Try salty stuff such as anchovies or olives – or go hot and spicy with chilli sauce, or just straight-up chilli in the blitz.
If you have some pan juices left over from roasting a chicken, loosen them off with a little boiling water and use instead of the stock. This method also works with baked-on roast vegie pan juices – particularly where onion or pumpkin are concerned.
Shortcut
Slash through a whole soft loaf or baguette with a bread-knife like a hasselback, then smear a spoonful of the garlic butter between each slice. Drizzle with olive oil and bake until golden.
Double duty
This is also good cold, so slide leftovers into your lunchbox with a handful of cherry tomatoes in summer, or a flask of hot soup for dipping in winter.
Coarsely blitz any crunchy, dried-out left-over bits and use for stuffing a roast chicken or vegies.
