Garlic: It just makes everything taste better. But between the slicing and dicing (and chopping and mincing), it’s a damn hassle to cook with. Lucky for you, we found an unbelievably easy way to cut down on the prep time without skimping on the flavor.
What you need: Garlic cloves and a microplane. (If you’re not familiar with this life-changing gadget, it looks like a large metal file and is typically used to zest citrus or grate cheese.)
What you do: Peel the cloves as you normally would. Then, holding onto one end of a clove, run it across the microplane in a back-and-forth motion. Repeat until you have enough garlicky goodness for your recipe. When you get down to the end of a clove, resist the urge to squeeze an extra pass out of the thing and toss out the remaining nub. The microplane--while indeed life-changing--is a sharp object that should be handled with care.
Why it works: Unlike a garlic press or knife, a microplane grates the cloves down to a fine paste that cooks evenly (so you never have to worry about biting into a big ol' chunk of the stuff again). Plus, it gets the job done in half the time.
