Tutorial: How to Roast Garlic

Tutorial Tuesday – Teach Me Stuff!  

Let me share with you one of my favorites, Roasted Garlic.   Incredibly easy to make and yet looks fancy schmancy!

For some individuals, like children,  who are not fond of fresh garlic’s sharp bite, roasted garlic is perfect! It has all the garlic flavor with a touch of caramelized sweetness.

Oh so good! (Is your mouth watering yet?)

I love to have a jar of roasted garlic on hand at all times to throw into eggs, pizza, mac anc cheese, pretty much everything. I even use it as a butter substitute on bread. My breath is heavenly!

Step 1: Pick out your garlic and preheat the oven

You’ll want to look for garlic with tight heads and no cracks in the papery skin. This indicates you have a fresh head usually without those pesky green sprouts hiding in the cloves. (Aren’t they so annoying!?) Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Put your rack on the middle setting.

*I like to roast 5 heads of garlic at a time so I can always have some  roasted garlic at the ready. You don’t need to do this- but trust me you will wish you did!

 Step 2: Cut the top 1/3 off each head.

You will need a sharp knife. I like to use my santoku knife. Please don’t throw those garlic tops away,  a lot of good garlic is hiding up there! I usually roast the tops too. You can either pick out the garlic or just throw a couple tops together in a piece of tin foil. This time I opted to pick it out. Call me anal, but I prefer, “particular.”

::: Baby Break :::

Doodle hanging out with mom in the kitchen.

Peek -a-Boo! I see you buddy!

:::

OK, back to the garlic…

Step 3: Prep 6 pieces of tin foil

 Approximately 6 inches long. These are a little big, but you get the point.

  Step 4: Season the Garlic 

 Place each head of garlic in the middle of one piece of tin foil. Now, this step is up to your personal preference. I like to pour a little extra virgin olive oil over each head ( I just eye ball it, if I were to measure – maybe 1 tsp?) Then just a tiny pinch of kosher salt and a dash of fresh ground pepper.  This time, I also put a touch of balsamic on half of them. Keep the seasoning pretty neutral so the garlic can be used in many different dishes.

 Step 5: Wrap them up

Don’t they look like huge Hershey’s Kisses? Garlic Kisses! Mmmm…

Step 6: Roast them up! Put them all on a cookie sheet, pie plate, or whatever and roast them in your pre-heated oven at 400 degrees for about 30-45min. Your house will smell AMAZING!

Step 7:  Squeeze it out & Jar it up

Let the heads cool to the touch. Then the magic begins! Gently squeeze the heads from the bottom. The cloves should come out whole. For the stubborn ones, I use a fork to ease them out. Are your cloves squeezing out into a paste? Sometimes if you have over roasted the garlic or you squeeze too hard they will come out mushy.  No fear! It’s still tasty, it just won’t look as pretty in your jar. What you want to avoid is burning the garlic.

 Sorry for the lack of action pics as I was driving this garlic train solo. Perhaps next time I should employ Max to take the pics – they might turn out better!

I tightly pack them into the jar and top it off with extra virgin olive oil.Check back on the jar in a couple of minutes once the oil settles in to the nooks and crannies, you may need to top off the jar with oil again.  The reason for the oil is to help keep air out of the jar and extend the life of the cloves. The oil also becomes garlicy and tasty too! Once refrigerated the oil will solidify, this is normal. The garlic if kept under the oil should keep for approx. 1 month in your fridge.

 AFTER PREPING THIS  NEEDS TO BE REFRIGERATED AT ALL TIMES. THIS IS NOT  SHELF STABLE!

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