I have been experimenting by adding extra cloves of garlic into my pasta sauce every time I cook it. I make a quick pasta sauce by caramelizing onions in a pan, adding very finely chopped fresh garlic (its practically a paste), and whatever other vegetables is my pick for the night. Then I add chopped tomatoes/passata and reduce.
It seems to me no matter how much garlic I add, I do not get a harsh flavour. I just get a nice, deep, complex yet subtle flavour that I wouldn't instantly attribute to garlic.
I am currently at the stage where I am adding more than half a bulb of garlic to a one person sauce.
Is there any point in adding this much garlic? Is the garlic responsible for this "nice, deep, complex flavour"? Would the same effect be achieved with less garlic which is more coarsely chopped?
I understand that the longer garlic cooks, the weaker the "garlic" flavour gets, but is this flavour disappearing or is it developing into a new flavour?
Best Answer
What you are discovering is that you can control they way garlic impacts a dish. You do this depending on how it is cut, chopped, mashed...and cooked (from raw to lightly toasted to slowly caramelized...)... and when it is added to the dish. Raw garlic is certainly more "harsh" than cooked. You will have to decide how much is enough...or too much. The flavor will not cook away, but does change.