Preparing garlic arrows for the winter - the most delicious ways

Throwing away plucked garlic arrows is, I tell you, wasteful. You can make so many delicious things out of them! The main thing is not to miss the moment and not let them outgrow. Young garlic flower stalks make delicious snacks and seasonings. Pickled garlic arrows are prepared for the winter, and if you don’t feel like fiddling around for a long time, you can simply fry or stew fresh fleshy greens and serve as a side dish. So, let's get down to business!

How to pickle garlic arrows for the winter?

In my opinion, vinegar marinade is not suitable for garlic arrows. There is a better option. For several years now I have been using citric acid instead of vinegar - it turns out much tastier.

What you will need:

• two-liter glass jar;
• garlic arrows - as much as needed to fill the jar tightly enough;
• water – 1 liter;
• sugar – 5 heaped tablespoons;
• salt – 2 level tablespoons;
• citric acid – 0.5 teaspoon;
• bay leaf – 2 pieces;
• pepper (peas) – 15–20 pieces.

Garlic arrows need to be collected when they are still unripe and look something like this:

Preparation step by step:

1. First you need to collect the arrows, wash them and cut off the “bags” with seeds.
2. Place the greens in a saucepan, bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute.
3. Sterilize the jar in any convenient way.
4. Prepare the marinade: add salt, sugar, citric acid, pepper and bay leaf to a liter of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 3 minutes.It is better to use an enamel pan for this.
5. Fill a sterile jar to the top with garlic arrows, pour them with the marinade removed from the heat.
6. Now all that remains is to roll up the jar with an iron lid and send it for storage.

Such preparations are well stored in basements, cellars and refrigerators. The taste is excellent thanks to citric acid - it combines well with the other ingredients. Guests who came to me from Italy last New Year noted that garlic arrows prepared for the winter according to this recipe tasted like pickled asparagus.

Garlic seasoning for the winter

There are many variations of this seasoning. To be honest, I haven’t decided for myself which one is better - I just try something new every year. Recipes differ in the number of ingredients, spiciness and texture of the finished mixture.

The simplest option involves using only two ingredients:

• 1 kilogram of garlic arrows;
• 170 g salt.

Cooking – it couldn’t be easier:

1. We remove the seed sacs from the arrows and pass them through a meat grinder.
2. Add 170 g of salt to the resulting green mass. Mix.
3. Let the preparation brew for about half an hour. During this time you will need to mix thoroughly several times. The salt will draw out the juice from the greens, everything will mix, and you will get a vegetable paste.
4. While the ground arrows are salting, we sterilize the lids and small jars.
5. The paste should be placed in jars, closed with lids (nylon or screw-on) and placed in the refrigerator.

You can do without sterilizing the jars only if you are preparing a small amount of seasoning that will be used in the next couple of weeks.

The good thing about this recipe is that it allows for an infinite number of options for ready-made dishes:

• The seasoning can be added to soups and meat dishes.
• Add olive oil and a little ground pepper to create a savory sauce.
• Mix with soft butter and grated boiled egg - you get a hearty paste that can be spread on sandwiches.
• Add to fried minced meat - it will be an excellent filling for pancakes and pies.

For those who like it spicy, I recommend adding spices to the seasoning - cardamom, a mixture of peppers or any other to your taste.

It is important to note that all these changes must occur immediately before preparing the dish. If you add new ingredients to salted garlic arrows, their shelf life will be significantly reduced.

How to freeze garlic arrows for the winter?

If you have a good, large freezer at your disposal, you won’t have to salt and preserve garlic arrows. After all, it’s much easier to freeze them.

The easiest way:

1. Wash the arrows, cut off the heads with seeds.
2. Dry, chop into small pieces.
3. Place on a tray lined with paper in one layer. In this form, freeze until hard.
4. Pour into a bag or container, write the date of freezing on it and immediately put it back in the freezer for long-term storage.

This preparation can be added to soups, stews, fried dishes, and stewed with vegetables.

Method of preparation with butter:

1. Wash 500 g of garlic arrows, a bunch of dill and a bunch of parsley, dry them and grind them using a blender or meat grinder.
2. Add a packet of softened butter and mix thoroughly.
3. Place in ice cube trays and freeze.

If there are no special molds, then you can simply roll the mixture into balls the size of meatballs, freeze them on a tray, as in the previous method, and then pour them into a bag and store them in the freezer.

It is better to use such preparations for soups and salads. It is not worth frying in green oil, since parsley and dill do not tolerate this type of processing very well. But putting a piece of frozen garlic butter on finished boiled or fried potatoes is a very good idea.

What to do with the tops?

The most delicious and meaty part of the arrows went to the preparations, but what can be done with the remaining tops? As a rule, they are simply thrown away. But there is one option for those who are not ready for such extravagance.

Garlic flower stalks contain a lot of essential oils that give a characteristic aroma. Therefore, they can be used in preparing dishes where garlic is needed only for flavor. This is, for example, pilaf. Instead of a head of garlic, you can put a bunch of garlic arrows in it.

To prevent the “flavor” from crumbling, the arrows must be tied with white cotton thread. Such a bunch can not only be used when preparing pilaf, but also put into the broth when cooking savory soups.

Dishes made from fresh garlic arrows

If you think that making garlic arrows is too tedious, you can eat them immediately after harvesting.

An option for the laziest is fried arrows. Just arrows, vegetable oil and salt - nothing more:

1. We remove the tops of the arrows, wash them, and cut them into pieces of 5-7 cm.
2. Heat a frying pan with vegetable oil (50 ml of oil per 1.5 kg of arrows).
3. Place the arrows on a heated frying pan and fry over medium heat.
4. After a couple of minutes, stir and cover with a lid.Continue cooking over medium heat for 7 minutes.
5. Add salt, mix again and fry covered until cooked.

To add an Asian flavor to the dish, you can sprinkle it with sesame seeds and add a little soy sauce. The taste is well complemented by sun-dried tomatoes, but not everyone has such a delicacy in their home.

My favorite “rustic” option is fried garlic arrows with egg. Everything is done as described above, only the finished arrows need to be poured with a couple of chicken eggs, mixed and kept on the fire for another minute.

I must say, fried garlic arrows are amazingly good even without additional ingredients. Serve them with new potatoes and a delicious summer dinner is ready.

For those who are skeptical about vegetable dishes, there is a more filling option.

You will need:

• 200 g pork;
• 200 g garlic arrows;
• soy sauce – 3 tsp;
• seasoning for meat – 1–2 tsp;
• wine – 2 tsp;
• green onions - a few feathers;
• vegetable oil.

Cooking pork with garlic arrows:

1. Wash the arrows and cut them into 5 cm pieces. The tops are not used.
2. Cut the pork into thin strips – also about 5 cm in length.
3. Sliced ​​meat needs to be marinated. Fill it with 3 tsp. soy sauce and add spices. Leave for at least 15 minutes.
4. Heat the oil in a frying pan. Chop the green onions into large pieces and fry.
5. Add wine and marinated pork to the pan. Fry for 3-5 minutes over medium heat.
6. Add the chopped arrows and fry for a couple more minutes. If necessary, add a little salt. After this, we move the frying pan to an empty burner so that the arrows do not overcook.

When serving, the dish can be sprinkled with sesame seeds.

So, there are many options for preparing garlic arrows at home - from the usual 5-minute frying in a frying pan to harvesting by canning and freezing. It all depends on your desire and on the amount of fleshy, vitamin-rich greens collected from the garlic beds.