So a while back my Twitter pal Pablo posted his version of the sublime roasted garlic praline from Michelin star Restaurante Bagá in Jaén (which has been on my wish list for years) from a recipe on their Instagram and I’ve been wanting to make it ever since. As last weekend was cloudy and cool(ish) I thought I’d better do it now or else have to wait until October. The recipe calls for slow roasting for four hours and I don’t like to run the oven/air fryer and AC at the same time (it doesn’t make sense when it’s HOT outside). And so I went to work.
The recipe is quite simple, it just takes a long time due to the low & slow cooking. I have to admit that what sold me on trying this was the addition of amontillado… I mean, butter, garlic and amontillado is a hard to beat combination. I took chef Pedro Sanchez’s “chupito” measurement for the amontillado and soy sauce to literally mean a shot glass full (it worked though I used a bit less soy sauce). BUT it looked like a lot of butter to me. I started off with 100 grams and was a bit alarmed that I was supposed to add another 100 grams… so I asked Pablo as he had also made this recipe. He thought if I roasted everything with 100 grams and then added more butter later if needed that would work. But I was thinking the butter should be cooking with all the other ingredients the whole time, not just added later, and so I decided to ask chef Pedro (aka Pedrito). Whom I have never met, and who doesn’t even know who I am. BUT he is somehow following me on Twitter so I sent him a cheek DM asking for advice.
Can I tell you? Pedrito was not only helpful, but also very sweet and charming, and he really seemed to care that I get this right. We’re talking a busy Michelin starred chef who was being pestered on Twitter on a Saturday afternoon by a total stranger… and he couldn’t have been more gracious. In the end (after me shamelessly sending him various photos) he agreed that 150 grams of butter was enough and… he was right. OMG was he ever right. This stuff is potent and at the same time super smooth… it’s not an exaggeration to say that a little goes a long way. So what to do with all of this deliciousness when there are just two of us at home? Have a look below to find out.
Ingredients and instructions below…