Roasting garlic may seem intimidating, but with a little olive oil and a hot oven, anyone can create perfectly roasted garlic in their own kitchen. Start off by preheating your oven to 375 degrees. Pick out an especially good looking head of garlic and remove its most outer wrappings. To select the best garlic, take a look at the bottom of the bulb. The lighter the bottom, the better. Try to avoid any heads of garlic that are extremely dark on the bottom, or that are odd shaped. A strangely shaped bulb won’t slice as nicely, so won’t roast as nicely.
Once you’ve got your mitts on the right bulb, remove its outer wrapper and chop off the top 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch of the bulb, exposing the raw cloves of garlic inside. Brush or drizzle the top of the garlic with olive oil, making sure to fully coat each clove. Place the garlic onto a baking sheet, or better yet, into a muffin pan. If you are using a baking sheet, you can cover the entire thing in aluminum foil. In a muffin tin, you should place each head of garlic into a separate cavity and cover them with foil individually. Bake the garlic for 45 – 60 minutes, depending on how caramelized you’d like it to get. It can come out as soon as it becomes soft, or until it has become dark. The flavor will intensify the longer the garlic is cooked, but it will also lose more moisture as it spends more time in the oven.
Once your garlic is roasted, the cloves can be squeezed from their wrappers and added to whatever you like. Each bulb will yield around 2 – 4 tablespoons of roasted garlic, plenty to enhance the flavor of any recipe that already calls for garlic. Roasting the garlic helps to mellow out its bite, making it much more versatile, and easier to palate directly. One of the simplest ways to enjoy roasted garlic is to spread the softened cloves across some hearty Italian or French bread. A little butter or soft cheese, such as cream cheese or brie will make this even more delicious. Try using your homemade roasted garlic to top a pizza, panini, or a creamy pasta dish. Puree the garlic in cream cheese, hummus, or sour cream to create mouth watering dips and spreads. You can also add it to soups, chili, pasta sauces or stuffing. Try spreading a clove inside a grilled cheese sandwich for a tasty twist on a favorite lunchtime staple. Any way you use it, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how the flavor and aroma of the garlic has been enhanced.
What is your favorite use for Roasted Garlic? Have any tips or recipes to share? Leave them in the comments below.