If you love garlic, then you'll love roasted garlic. The flavor is smooth and sweet and perfect in so many dishes. You can use it on:
Spreads and Dips
Spread roasted garlic on bread or bruschetta with olive oil or add it to cream cheese, hummus or bean dip for extra flavor.
Pasta
Use roasted garlic in any pasta dish. For a quick meal, serve pasta with roasted garlic, olive oil, steamed broccoli and Parmesan cheese.
Soups
Roasted garlic is great in any soups where fresh garlic is normally used. Minestrone, vegetable, bean and pureed soups are all improved by the addition of roasted garlic.
Sauces
Use roasted garlic in sauces such as homemade salad dressing, spaghetti sauce and gravy. Add roasted garlic to mayonnaise or melted butter to liven up the taste.
Vegetables
Add roasted garlic to any type of cooked vegetables, particularly broccoli, asparagus, artichokes, cooked greens and mashed potatoes, one of my favorites.
Making Roasted Garlic is actually very simple. Just follow these directions.
You can start with just one head of garlic but, since you're making it I'd do at least:
4 heads garlic
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt to taste
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. With a sharp knife, cut off and discard the tips from the garlic heads. Place garlic on aluminum foil (shiny side in) and drizzle the oil over the exposed garlic cloves. Fold the foil over the garlic heads and seal so it becomes an airtight envelope. Place the garlic in the oven and roast for 1 hour. Let cool. Remove from foil and leave at room temperature for up to 12 hours, or refrigerate. The recipe can be completed to this point up to 2 weeks before serving.
To serve, if the garlic is refrigerated, bring to room temperature. Sprinkle with salt if desired. Remove a garlic clove by pressing the skin and squeeze the garlic paste onto a cracker, crotini, bruschetta or into your favorite veggies, sauces, soups, pasta, etc.
It's that simple and delicious! Try it, you'll like it. You'll be amazed at how something so easy can jazz up any dish.
