Seasonal Recipe
Roasted Garlic
Roasting garlic turns its sulfurous pungency into a deep sweetness, and changes the texture into something not unlike softened butter. The more the cells of the garlic cloves are damaged, and the less it's cooked, the hotter the flavor, which is why just one or two cloves can give a batch of basil pesto such a bracing garlic flavor. Here, the cloves are left intact, and cooked slowly, for a long time, bringing out a natural sweetness that's even made its way into cookie recipes!
Ingredients:
- Garlic cloves
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Separate the cloves from the head, removing the loose outer layers of papery skin. Peeling now is optional; when finished, simply squeezing the cooked cloves is enough to pop out the buttery garlic. Arrange the cloves in a ramekin or other ovenproof dish just big enough to hold them. More than one layer is okay. Add a pinch of salt, and pour over olive oil to cover. Wrap the top tightly with foil, and bake for at least an hour, until the garlic is tender but not starting to fry crisp. (Squeeze a clove with tongs to check.)
- Allow the garlic to cool, and remove the cloves from the oil. Strain, if necessary, and reserve for future recipes; garlic oil's full of flavor. It's excellent for sauteing vegetables, for richly flavored vinaigrettes, or for a last-minute drizzle for soups, roasts, grileld vegetables, what have you. The garlic cloves can be refrigerated until needed for recipes, or for making some really excellent garlic bread.
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