The links in these recipes are for products that I use and recommend.
Garlic has a long global history as a cure-all.
It is believed that garlic originated in Middle Asia and then spread to China. The first historic records of medicinal garlic use are from China in 2700 BC and Sumeria in 2600 BC.
In Ancient China, garlic was considered a stimulant and used to treat depression. In Ancient India, garlic was used as a tonic to treat lack of appetite, common weakness, cough, skin disease, and rheumatism.
Egyptians fed garlic to slaves to keep them strong and healthy and able to do more work. In Ebers, papyrus dating back to 1500 BC mentions garlic for healing 32 different illnesses.
In Ancient Greece garlic was fed to armies prior to major battles and today Greek Olympic athletes still eat garlic for the purpose of performance enhancement. Garlic was considered a remedy against intestinal parasites, snakebites, and “mad dog’s bites”.
In Ancient Rome, an oil made of garlic and thyme juice was rubbed on the skin to prevent snake bites and Pliny the Elder considered garlic a universal remedy. Around the second century, Galen and Celsius were using garlic to treat tuberculosis and colic.
Garlic was used as treatment and a preventative, and credited with saving thousands of people in Marseille during the plague in 1720, during outbreaks of Cholera, typhoid and diphtheria in Beirut in the early 20th Century, and during the Spanish flu of 1918.
Above information sourced from Extracts From the History and Medical Properties of Garlic by Biljana Bauer Petrovska dn Svetlana Cekovska.
Modern Scientific Research Confirms Garlic’s Healing Powers
Garlic is rich with vitamins C, A and B complex along with the minerals magnesium, zinc, selenium and germanium, enzymes, amino acids, lipids, steroid saponosides, and the unusual compound allicin which has been proven to be a bactericide.
Recent studies have shown garlic protects from the common cold (a form of coronavirus) and that those who took garlic were both less likely to catch the cold and more likely to recover quickly if they did.
Garlic has been shown to improve cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health and may lessen the risk of development of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Garlic has strong antioxidant properties and is being studied for anticarcinogenic potential.
Above information sourced from Extracts From the History and Medical Properties of Garlic by Biljana Bauer Petrovska dn Svetlana Cekovska.
Anecdotally…
Growing up, my next door neighbor and good friend was of Irish decent. She claimed it was a family secret to eat a spoonful of raw minced garlic when you started to feel sick and it would kick anything.
The first chef I worked under was a second generation Italian and he swore by loading up a slice of bread with raw garlic and olive oil to fight illness. He did this everyday and garlic seeped out of every pore.
When I stumbled upon a French Garlic Soup recipe that I loved, I tucked it in my figurative back pocket and took it to college with me where it become my own get-well tradition. I swear by it. After eating a bowl of these garlic soups, you will notice your body temperature going up like you are burning off a fever or infection. Garlic soup is also very simple, cheap, nutritious and comforting and the overall health benefits of garlic warrant eating these soups and other garlic laden dishes on a regular basis.
Over the years I have since expanded on the garlic soup theme at home and I make up a batch of some type of garlic soup anytime someone in my family is a little under the weather. Both of these soups start with the same garlic to liquid ratio and both are served with a poached egg that thickens the broth when it is cut open and provides additional nutrition to help you get well.
With the recent novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 outbreak, in combination with living with a 5 year old germaphile in kindergarten and a baby in utero, I definitely plan on adding in some garlic to my diet as a preventative measure.
Here are 2 Cure-All Garlic Soups.
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Garlic-Miso Ramen
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Boiling
- Cuisine: Asian
Description
When you’re under-the-weather nothing is better than a piping hot bowl of noodles and broth.
Ingredients
8 cups water or stock
20 crushed garlic cloves
1/4 cup miso paste
4 servings ramen noodles (preferably fresh noodles)
4 eggs
Optional Garnishes: Togarashi, Sesame Oil, Miso-Fermented Vegetables or Kim Chi
Notes
Make the garlic-miso broth
In a pot large enough to hold 3 quarts add the garlic and water and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until garlic is soft. Transfer the garlic to a bowl and crust with a fork and then transfer it back to the stock. In the same bowl thin the miso paste with some of the stock, then pour it into the soup and whisk to incorporate and fully dissolve. Season with salt and pepper.
Assemble soup bowls
While the garlic broth is simmering, bring another pot of water to a boil.
Cook your noodles according to their package instructions. Remove from pot using tongs or slotted spoon (retaining the boiling water) and divide among 4 bowls.
Add about 1 Tablespoon of vinegar or 1/2 Tablespoon lemon juice to the boiling water and poach your eggs for 2 minutes each. Using a slotted spoon, transfer on egg to each of your 4 bowls. If you need an egg poaching demo, check out Gordon Ramsay Demonstrates How To Prepare The Perfect Poached Egg | TASTE OF FOX.
Spoon the hot garlic broth over each bowl and top with fermented vegetables, sesame oil and togarashi if using. Serve immediately.
French Garlic Soup
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Cook Time: 30 min
- Total Time: 30 min
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Boiling
- Cuisine: French
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This simple soup is light, inexpensive, nutritious and will warm you from the inside.
Ingredients
8 cups water/ chicken broth/ vegetable broth
20 crushed garlic cloves
10 fresh sage leaves
2 cups chopped swiss chard/kale/spinach/parsley or a mix of these (optional)
Salt and Pepper
8 slices of day old bread, toasted
4 eggs
Duck fat/ Butter/ Olive Oil for finishing
Instructions
Make the Garlic Broth
Bring the water/stock and the crushed garlic to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until the garlic is pretty soft. Add the sage leaves and cook for another 5 minutes.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer the garlic and sage leaves to a bowl. Pick out and discard the sage. Crush the garlic with a fork and transfer it back to the broth. Season with salt and pepper. Add the 2 cups of chopped greens if using.
Poach your eggs.
You can either do this in the garlic broth or a separate pot of acidified simmering water. If you poach in a separate pot, it will make the presentation nicer as you won’t have all the stringy white bits that come away from the egg. Do I care about the presentation when I’m cooking for my family? Nope. I do care about how many dishes I have to do afterward, so I tend to poach these in the garlic broth. If you need an egg poaching demo, check out this quick video Gordon Ramsay Demonstrates How To Prepare The Perfect Poached Egg | TASTE OF FOX.
Assemble your bowls
Place two pieces of toasted bread in each of 4 bowls. Top with an egg. Pour the garlic broth over and drizzle or spoon in about 1 Tablespoon of duck fat, olive oil or butter. Duck fat would be my preference here. Serve.
Notes
If you have unflavored gelatin powder on hand, you can add it to your soup to make a “Cheater Bone Broth”
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