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Garden Salad
Lidey Heuck
11 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
11
20 minutes
Updated May 3, 2024
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Heat the oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, stir together the butter, garlic, Parmesan and parsley. Add the salt and generously season with pepper. Set aside while you cut the baguette.
Cut deep slits into the baguette, 1-inch apart — don’t cut all the way through the loaf — and place the baguette on a large piece of foil. Using a teaspoon or an offset spatula, generously spread the seasoned butter inside each slit. Make sure to reach the bottom of the slit; don’t be shy here.
Wrap the baguette in the foil, place on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the baguette from the oven and unwrap the top (leave the bread on the foil). If you’re adding mozzarella, use the offset spatula or spoon to gently open each slit and tuck a piece of mozzarella in (it’s O.K. if the cheese pops out from the top a little). Return bread to the oven and bake until crisp and golden on top, another 5 minutes. Slice with a serrated knife (or tear with your hands) and serve at once.
Given the comments about slicing, I use the same recipe but use softened butter rather than melted. Mix all the ingredients and spread on both sides of a horizontally sliced baguette or loaf. Put the two pieces back together, wrap in foil and bake at 400 for 15 minutes. I unwrap the bread and give it another few minutes to -crisp up a bit and then slice the halves into 2 or 3-inch slices. Easier to serve than having the diners tear off slices.
Keeping the slices not fully cut does make this work well, and the overall method is great. Just one change: I like to use half melted butter and half olive oil for the flavor combo our family prefers, and have even used only olive oil for some of the real advocates for that.
Slightly weird trick that my dad used when he made his delicious garlic bread. Once the bread is assembled, add a thin spread of mayo to the top of the loaf and sprinkle with grated parmesan. Wrap in foil and bake.
To make sure you don't slice all the way through, place a chopstick down each side of the bread. Cut down until you hit the chopstick. Easy peasy. This is a common technique for hasselback potatoes. Works well here, too.
This is quite good, but a messy eating experience as people try to tear off the gooey slices that haven't been cut through. I will be doing it again tonight but pre-cutting the slices after taking it out of the oven and before serving. Another recommendation: As the recipe suggests, GRATE the garlic! Don't try mincing it as it won't be small enough to make it palatable.
Can this be made ahead and frozen?
This is really good, but it's a messy way to prep garlic bread. Next time instead of melting the butter I'll mash the ingredients into it and use a knife to spread the mixture between the slices.
The flavors were good, but next time I will cut the bread in half lengthwise, spread the filling on the bottom half, add the top of the bread, wrap in foil and bake. It's too messy otherwise, and the garlic butter didn't stick to both sides of the bread when I made it as written.
Lots of these comments have me rolling my eyes. If you do it a completely different way, why are you commenting on this recipe? Obviously, horizontally cut baguette is the standard way and this recipe is a new way. I made this tonight and it was delicious. Maybe a little messy but it’s all contained in the foil so I’m not complaining. I love that the slices were saturated on both sides. Also kept the bread from being too crusty/crunchy. Genius.
I agree with those who slice through horizontally. I spread top and bottom to bake. When finished I then set the loaf on its side and cut slices all the way through. (They don't seem to squeeze as much as when cutting from the top of the loaf—the crust helps it hold its shape.) For extra flavor, I use marjoram rather than parsley, and if you're using Parmesan cheese, I wouldn't add extra salt, even 1/4 teaspoon.
Made last night for dinner party. Used my microplane to grate garlic. Was worried garlic was too strong when I tasted prior to slathering bread, but it was perfection. Agree w other comments: just soften the butter. DELISH!
No need to melt the butter - just use soft, room temperature butter and mash it all together.
Perhaps mash garlic into a paste. Grating garlic? Tends to stick to the grater, a waste of a rather dear ingredient. (>$10/# for organic garlic. GADZOIKS!) Mashing never slices all those capillaries just under the skin, either. Never hurts to supercharge the concoction with a dash of calabrian chili powder. ZING! In spring, garlic whips chopped fine capable of inspiring taste buds to tap dance -- there's something exciting about the extra dose of chlorophyll.
I found that slicing the bread this way resulted in a beautifully crispy outside but a soggy inside. I recommended baking the bread on its side (switching over halfway through the no foil on the top part) with the bread fanned out to get the insides a little more crispy.
I made as direction sans the mozzarella. Too perefect!
So easy & delicious, all the ingredients in the fridge slathered on a nice big baguette. I’m never buying store made again- Thank you!!!
Brought this to a swim team carb feast prior to our finals meet. I made it ahead and kept it in the fridge until the event a couple of day slater. The kids couldn't get enough of it, even with the parsley : ). They were all trying to guess what it was. Three loaves was not enough! I will be making this again and again. I gave it a little longer in the oven at the end.
I’ve made a version of this for years however I use thin sliced provolone and insert between slices, wrap and bake at high temp.
Made it per the instructions and it came out great and was delicious!
Had my homemade garlic oil so used those garlic, chopped and added for this. These garlic would give a mellow flavor than grated ones. Also had a block of cheese left in the fridge so grated those and on it went on the grill on the upper rack for 15 mins along with the sausages.
The slicing here is doing it the hard way. The easy way is to slice the bread the long way, butter it and put the top back on, then cut the slices all the way through, hold it together from the ends, and place it it in the foil. This way takes a fraction of the time that spreading butter between slices takes. When it comes out of the oven it's ready to eat and didn't make half of the mess.
This was really gross! Didn’t taste any garlic whatsoever, it was all chunky Parmesan. Not very good.
Putting a cold stick of butter straight from the fridge into the microwave for around 10 seconds made it soft enough to mix in the garlic and herbs without melting it.
A family favorite!
I think mixing shredded mozzarella into the sauce might help it stick better to it lessening the layered effect that causes a lot of stringing and pulling
Then the cheese is in the over for 20 minutes instead of 5. We don't really want "cooked" cheese.
Maybe this is like asking to bring a skunk to a picnic, but why are good old garlic presses being ignored while people risk finger damage trying to grate garlic?
Maybe because not everyone owns a good old garlic press.
This method was executed but it’s super messy. My bread in between the slices did not cook/toast fully. Read the comments! I wish I would’ve known better than to just make this. This is the second recipe I’ve made from the NYT and it hasn’t been the same expected outcome.
Amazing! You have to try it.
Made for Xmas with maddie and pete 2023. Too garlicy, cut by halk
I made this but the bread does not toast up between the slices. I like garlic toast not garlic bread. Not sure if that’s was what it was supposed to be, but next time I’ll slice and toast each slice individually so each slice is toasted.
The bread is not meant to "toast up" between the slices. Garlic bread is soft in the center. Look for a recipe for garlic toast if that's your preference. My family likes the soft center, which is traditional with garlic bread.
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