What has zero nutritionally redeeming qualities and is one
of the most delicious things you can stuff in your face? The answer to this
riddle is garlic knots. I could have made that into a real riddle, but do you
really need that kind of stress this time of year? Probably not.
Garlic knots are a specialty of pizzerias and Italian
restaurants in the Southern Tier, although in the North Country, Wise Guys and
Stefanos also offer really yummy ones. I’ve had some bad examples, too – with under-seasoning,
over-baking, and under-buttering being the chief crimes leading to unsatisfactory
knots. Please, never let your knots be under-buttered. It’s a grievous error.
I’ve tinkered with my knot recipe for probably the better
part of a year, though sporadically. One just cannot make knots that often – or can they? Because now that I’ve
perfected them, we want them constantly, and I’ve made them once a week for the
last month. It’s becoming a bit of a problem, actually. I wouldn’t want to
deprive you of buttery, cheese, garlicky goodness any longer. So here’s the
recipe.
BHS’ Garlic Knots
1/3 Package of store bought pizza dough
2 T Butter
1 T Olive Oil
2-3 Garlic cloves, minced very finely
½ tsp Garlic Salt
A pinch of Red Pepper Flakes
A pinch of Dried Basil
1 T Parmesan Cheese, grated
2 T Butter
1 T Olive Oil
2-3 Garlic cloves, minced very finely
½ tsp Garlic Salt
A pinch of Red Pepper Flakes
A pinch of Dried Basil
1 T Parmesan Cheese, grated
- Preheat oven to 400° (if you’re also making pizza, go for 500°)
- On a floured surface, pat your dough into a flat disk, and cut into 1 inch wide strips, about three inches long
- Pick up each piece and roll between hands into a long, skinny snake-like rope. Tie that rope into a round knot, then another one on top of the first and drop into a baking stone baker. I got mine from Pampered Chef, and while I don’t usually promote such things, it really does a good job with pizza dough.
- Proceed through the rest and bake them at 400 for 18-20 min or 500 for 12-15 min; until golden brown.
- Add your garlic to the butter and oil in a small bowl and microwave for 20 seconds, then add spices.
- As soon as the knots are out of the oven, brush generously with the garlic butter mixture, and then sprinkle with cheese.
- Serve with warm marinara sauce or leftover pizza sauce
Sooo, we can just like eat these as a meal, right?
ReplyDeleteIf Shawn had his way, yes, these would be dinner, full-stop, every night.
ReplyDelete