Thoūm-unity: A Story of Garlic & Recipe for Roasted Garlic
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Thoum is Arabic for garlic, the immunity-boosting, magical root.
۞ وَإِذِ ٱسۡتَسۡقَىٰ مُوسَىٰ لِقَوۡمِهِۦ فَقُلۡنَا ٱضۡرِب بِّعَصَاكَ ٱلۡحَجَرَۖ فَٱنفَجَرَتۡ مِنۡهُ ٱثۡنَتَا عَشۡرَةَ عَيۡنً۬اۖ قَدۡ عَلِمَ ڪُلُّ أُنَاسٍ۬ مَّشۡرَبَهُمۡۖ ڪُلُواْ وَٱشۡرَبُواْ مِن رِّزۡقِ ٱللَّهِ وَلَا تَعۡثَوۡاْ فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ مُفۡسِدِينَ ۞
“O Moses, we can never endure one [kind of] food. So call upon your Lord to bring forth for us from the earth its green herbs and its cucumbers and its garlic and its lentils and its onions.” (Holy Quran, 2:61)
Garlic has had its fair stage time in my life. Growing up in an ethnically blended home, garlic seemed to be the common denominator ingredient across familiar dishes and foods.
My mother’s Waraaā Enaab (rolled and stuffed grape leaves), is a family favourite, and the Turkish-Syrian inspired delicacy could be smelt from meters away because of the potent and rich garlic flavours. To this day, my favorite part of this dish is fishing for the 3-4 heads of roasted garlic beneath the fresh grape leaves after hours of roasting in the slow cooker.
Top 5 reasons I love garlic:
FLAVOUR! (and potency)
So simple and versatile to incorporate in your food
High nutrient density, low calories
Medicinal benefits: improves circulation, lowers blood pressure, full of antioxidants, lowers cholesterol, anti-inflammatory properties, overall immunity booster
SO easy to grow/replant! (fast and high yield harvest that grows in low-maintenance growing conditions)
Roasted garlic is a long time favorite food of mine, and with the current climate, we have upped our garlic intake. Of course, we are in the middle of a global pandemic, and I am not here to say that garlic is a simple fix to a global issue. What I am suggesting though, is amidst this pandemic, we have all become aware of our immunity, or lack thereof to a certain extent. With this virus going around, my husband, Colt, and I have upped our intake of garlic, mostly for the flavour and with the intention and realization of its healing powers. Though we are departing the winter season, garlic being a winter root, this cloved healing root is a year-round favourite! We have been downing roasted, raw and cooked garlic daily. How do you enjoy garlic?
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Roasted Garlic Recipe:
Ingredients:
Garlic
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Fresh Herbs (optional)
Directions
Keeping the skin intact, cut off the crown of the garlic exposing the top parts of all cloves.
In a ramekin dish, pyrex or even in a makeshift piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil, a sprinkle of salt n pepper, and cover-up.
Roast on 300 degrees F for 2-3 hours/ 400 degrees F for 1-2 hours (the longer the roasting time, the more even the garlic cooks).
*Protip: Add fresh herbs to the roast to introduce new flavour notes, and keep the roasted garlic staple interesting.
**Protip 2: add the chopped off head of garlic (and its bits) to the oil, and add more oil to get a garlic-infused oil bonus!
