My first New York City memory involves garlic knots. It was a freezing day in November, and my mom and I were visiting my grandmother, who wore gold turbans on Tuesday afternoons and lived near Central Park. My hands were numb and my toes were numb and my grandma suggested popping into a pizza place she knew nearby, if only to escape the cold momentarily. I still remember watching her order on the soda-stained counter, her fur coat gleaming in the fluorescent light. I remember the greasy garlic knots, and the satisfaction of dipping them into the sweet, salty tomato sauce, and the way that the combination warmed my fingers and my insides. It was the first time I thought, “this city is magic,” and if you’d told me then that twenty years later, I’d be living here, I would’ve laughed out loud.

Those garlic knots were not, of course, very healthy. This version is a different thing altogether, but it hits the same vein of nostalgia. They’re still a little greasy in the best way, but the grease is from heart-healthy extra virgin olive oil. They’re still bursting with garlic with flecks of parsley that feel like they exist more for show. They’re still slightly crispy on the outside with a warm, pillowy inside. They’re perfect.

They’re also fully flour-free, relying instead on a mix of oat, almond, and arrowroot flour for their perfect texture. The oat and almond add protein, minerals, and a ton of fiber, which helps keep your blood sugar stable even though you’re consuming a so-called “baked good.”

Tell me about arrowroot flour.

Arrowroot is a starch, made from a root vegetable that’s often found in South America. It’s often compared to corn starch, but corn starch is made from grain roots, while arrowroot is made from tubers, and it has entirely different health properties. Studies show its gut healing powers, and it’s a great immune-booster while being super easy to digest. Together with the apple cider vinegar in this recipe, it helps aerate and lighten the oat flour and almond flour, allowing for a fluffy finished product, despite its gluten free nature.

Want to make it more immune boosting?

Rest your garlic. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it a thousand times—always rest your garlic for 20 minutes before cooking it. Garlic contains a compound called allicin, that, when activated by chopping and left to rest for 20 minutes, becomes powerfully anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-fungal. The garlic in this recipe is barely cooked, allowing those properties to stay mostly intact, so don’t miss out on the benefits! Rest your garlic. It means you can say your garlic knots are an immune-boosting food, and who doesn’t want that?

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