by Tracy Deluca

Created on: March 18, 2009

Roasting garlic is so easy that anyone can do it! And the uses for roasted garlic are endless. You can spread it on crackers, bread or crustini, make garlic toast, use it in marinades and sauces, add to salads, mix it into softened butter, add it to your pizza toppings, mix it into pasta dishes or make garlic mashed potatoes that are to die for! The wonderful thing about roasted garlic is that the nutty, sweet and mellow flavor combines well with almost any dish. I suggest roasting several heads of garlic at a time and keeping them on hand for your culinary adventures.

How to Roast Garlic
Items needed:
deep baking pan
aluminum foil
olive oil
salt and pepper
milk
whole heads of garlic
small, sharp knife

Instructions
Begin by cutting the ends off of each garlic head. Do not separate the cloves, just cut off the tip of the head, about 1/4 inch or so. Do this carefully.

Place the heads into the baking pan and drizzle them with olive oil. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper over the tops of each head to enhance the flavors. Now, take about a cap full of milk for each head of garlic and pour it directly onto the top of each head. The milk will help to draw out the sweetness of the garlic and really make it taste fabulous.

Cover the baking pan with the foil and place it into a preheated oven. The oven should be heated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cook the garlic for approximately 40 50 minutes. It can take up to an hour if you are roasting large heads of garlic. The smell of the garlic will fill your entire house and the cloves will be soft and golden brown.

Let the heads cool before handling and then you can squeeze the garlic right out of the cloves.

Another great idea for roasting garlic is to roast pre-peeled cloves. You can buy these cloves in jars at the supermarket. To roast these, do not just stick them on a pan! They will dry out and burn without the protection of the peel.

How To Roast Pre-peeled Cloves of Garlic
Items Needed
saucepan
milk
jar of pre-peeled garlic
baking pan
olive oil

Drain the oil from your garlic cloves. Save the oil in a separate bowl. Place the cloves into a saucepan and pour milk on them until they are completely covered. Bring the milk up to a simmer and simmer for several minutes.

Drain the milk and place your garlic into a baking dish. Pour the oil that you saved over the top of the garlic and add more oil until they are covered.

Place your baking dish in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake until they are golden brown and soft. This should take about 15 20 minutes although the time depends on how many you are cooking.

Drain the oil from your cloves once they have begun to cool. Save the oil in an airtight container as this garlic infused oil is wonderful to use in many dishes. Use the cloves as you would any other roasted garlic.

Storing Roasted Garlic
Store the cloves in your refrigerator for up to a week in an airtight container. You can freeze any leftovers but they should be used in sauces, marinades or other mixtures after freezing. The texture of the roasted garlic will change after freezing.

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