 It is the time of year for gutsy cooking. Long gone are the salds, dug up are the courgettes. The peas and beans can stay in the freezer to brighten the dark months ahead. What we need now is some pungent flavour to warm us up after a day of digging or compost spreading.
There are only two real rules to observe when cooking garlic. Firstly, don't add it to absolutely everything you cook or you will stop noticing it's there. Secondly, take care not to singe it when cooking, as this gives it a nasty bitter taste. As it cooks faster than onions, brown them first before adding the garlic, and give the latter only a minute's frying.
 Garlic's only drawback is that it tends to hang around. Chewing parsley (not much fun) doesn't turn one's breath sweet, nor, apart from chewing gum, does anything else. Garlic fingers are an easier matter. Rub them on the flat of a stainless steel knife, or other stainless steel utensil, under cold running water - the odour miraculously disappears. You may need to repeat the next day, but it does work. Legend has it that this method was discovered by a man making a great deal of garlicky chutney. He went out into the garden to do a spot of digging and then washed his stainless steel spade under the tap.
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