If anyone’s been to any good Mexican establishment, they may have had the privilege to try mojo de ajo, which is a garlicky oil which you can pour or smear over anything to make it taste OUTRAGEOUSLY decadent and delicious. It’s best with beans or roasted vegetables. the key to the awesome flavour is in the roasting of the garlic. Roasted garlic is sweet and chewy, very different from and much nicer than raw, as well as being less tart and pungent. I have been known to eat roasted garlic cloves straight from the pan, they’re that good.

I’m having these with my Mexican black beans, toasted flatbread/tortillas, and corn on the cob which brings it all together.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 sweet potato, washed

1/2 celeriac, peeled

2 bulbs garlic (really)

1 cup olive oil

Sprinkle paprika, cumin, and chilli flakes

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 220C
2. Chop potato and celeriac into bitesize pieces (do not peel the potato)
3. Place the vegetables on a baking sheet, add a good glug of oil and sprinkle on the paprika and cumin and put in the oven to roast for 25 minutes
4. Peel the garlic cloves- I place the blade of my knife on them and crush them with the heel of my palm, this helps to loosen the skin
5. Place the cloves in a small ovenproof dish (I used a ramekin), and cover in olive oil
6. Place the ramekin in the oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes- I used two little metal ones, see below
7. Once the garlic cloves are roasted, mash them up in the oil with two forks
8. Add a sprinkle of salt and chilli flakes.
9. The sauce will not emulsify, just try and pull apart and mash the garlic as best you can in the oil
10. Once the vegetables are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, take them out of the oven and smother them in ajo de mojo.
11. Serve with black beans and sweetcorn

The ramekins I fill with cloves of garlic and olive oil