Roasted garlic

 

I thought I would do a segment called “the basics” in which I show you easy ways to stock your pantry or freezer.  And the best place to start would be with roasted garlic.  It’s easy, it’s quick and it’s so versatile. You can even eat it with a spoon which seems to be my husbands favorite way of attacking these delicious little bursts of flavor.  In fact, we went out to celebrate our anniversary and he consumed the roasted garlic head with pure abandon.  I think I ate only one clove, just to be part of the team, or because I couldn’t get a finger in there without it getting bit.

At least I know that if we were attacked by a group of vampires, I would be fine.  I just need to stand close to my hubby.

When I was in culinary school, one of our weekly test questions was:  “if you are cooking a piece of halibut at 350 degrees, how long would you cook it?”

I answered, “well, how big is the piece of halibut?”  Other students answered “10 minutes” or “4 minutes on one side and 3 on the other” and so on.

Turned out that it was a trick question.  The correct answer was “until it’s done.”

Durh.

Well, just like the halibut, roasting garlic is the same.  I will post a time frame, but really, you need to be proactive and check your garlic.  You neither want it under-roasted nor burned.

roasted garlic

1 head of garlic

olive oil

dried herbs, optional

aluminum foil

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Take the head of garlic and slice off enough of the top of the head to expose the tops of the individual cloves.  Tear off a piece of foil that will be big enough to fold over the garlic and make a little package.

Place the head of garlic on the foil, cut side up.  Drizzle a bit of olive oil on the cut side and sprinkle some dried herbs, if using, on top of the oil.  Fold the foil over the garlic so that it doesn’t touch the top of the garlic head, but with tight seams in the foil so that no steam can release while cooking.

Place foil packet into the oven and cook for 30-40 minutes, or until roasted completely.

notes:

I usually take between five and ten heads of garlic and roast them at one time.  Then, after they are fully cooked, I pull the cloves out and place them flat in a ziplock bag and stash them in the freezer.  When I need some for whatever recipe I’m making I just break off however many cloves I need and I’m ready to go.

Whole heads of roasted garlic are a great accompaniment on a cheese or charcuterie platter, and you can use the roasted version as a replacement for raw garlic in any recipe.

You can use any dried herbs but dried thyme or dried oregano are my favorites for this recipe.