Why roasted garlic? Baking it removes the harshness of raw garlic, (kind of) reduces the likelihood of garlic breath (remember, friends don’t let friends eat garlic alone). Roasted garlic also gives that umami sensation that’s so sensational in foods. And, because of its spreadable texture, it can be used in interesting ways. Give our suggestions below a try. The coronavirus travel ban has meant everyone is doing a lot more cooking at home. These tips will come in really handy as you get creative with your cooking.

How to Make Roasted Garlic Cloves:

Ingredients:
Note: Choose whole heads of garlic when their outer peel is white and snug against their bulbs (as opposed to darker and loose and falling off which means the bulbs are getting old).

Our Garlic Roaster holds about 8 bulbs but you can make fewer or more by wrapping them in aluminum foil and resting them in a shallow, oven-proof dish. We love our Garlic Roaster though, because we can store the roasted cloves in there too.

Method:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Most recipes tell you to slice the tops off of the garlic bulbs and drizzle olive oil but you don’t really half to. We like the more rustic look of them uncut and we like to add olive oil in the recipe in which we use the cloves. Add the bulbs of garlic to the roaster or put them in in a pouch of aluminum foil, folding over the top of the foil. Some recipes also call for sprinkling roasted garlic with salt at the beginning when you drizzle olive oil on them. I don’t do that because I want to control the amount of salt in the food I’m putting the cloves in.

Roast the garlic bulbs in the oven for approximately 40 minutes. Your house will smell a-mazing, full of all of the possibilities for ways to use the garlic.

Let them cool about 10 minutes before squeezing out the bulbs which should be yellowy and squishy.

You can keep the roasted garlic at room temperature for a day or two. After that, you should refrigerate it. Don’t make more roasted bulbs than you would use in about a week.

How to Use Roasted Garlic:

Basically, use roasted garlic cloves the same way, and in the same measurements, as you would raw garlic. You’ll still get that garlic flavor without the harshness, and without having to saute it.

1. Toast or grill a good, crusty bread, drizzle it with olive oil and spread a clove or two of the garlic over that. Place the toast in the bottom of a bowl and ladle pretty much any soup or stew over the top.
2. Do the spread-on-toast method above and lay a sunny side up egg over the top, breaking the yolk so that it mixes and mingles with the garlic and nooks and crannies of the bread for a hearty brunch. I love to do this with garlic on an English Muffin.
3. Put some softened cloves in a small bowl with a knife for spreading and add it to a charcuterie board. Spread the garlic on crackers and top with cheeses, meats, olives, or cornishons.
4. Top toasted bread with garlic cloves, topped with lightly-mashed white beans, drizzle with olive oil and top with diced cherry tomato and a sprinkle of thyme for an easy lunch or snack.