Roasted Garlic Without Tinfoil
Roast as many heads of garlic as you like or need. Add the caramelized and mellow garlic to dips such as baba ghanoush and hummus, puréed main dishes such as roasted honeynut squash soup or simply spread it on crackers or toast. Or eat the cloves by themselves. They taste that good!
Ingredients
- whole heads of garlic
- ½ to 1 teaspoon olive oil per head of garlic
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Slice off the top of each head of garlic, between ¼ and ½ an inch, to expose the tops of every clove. If a clove is still covered in paper, surgically remove the top with a paring knife.* (see note)
- Place the whole garlic heads on a cookie sheet, in a muffin tin, or a Dutch oven, cut side facing up. Drizzle with olive oil. If any of the cloves are bare, rub on some olive oil with your finger.
- Rub any of the larger top pieces in olive oil that has dripped onto the bottom of the roasting dish. Tuck them into the roasting dish, exposed side facing up. These will roast faster so keep an eye on them to prevent them from burning.
- If using a cookie sheet, cover each head with an overturned ramekin or oven-proof dish. If using a muffin tin, cover with an overturned cookie sheet. If using a Dutch oven or casserole dish, cover with the lid.
- Roast the garlic for from 45 minutes to one hour, until caramelized and soft. Remove from the oven. When cool enough to handle, pop the cloves out of the head with your fingers. They will slide out easily.
- Use the roasted garlic immediately or refrigerate. The garlic will keep in the refrigerator for at least 5 days.
Notes
For your next recipe!
Use any small ends of the cloves in the top you sliced off the head of garlic. Add these immediately to another dish or store in the refrigerator and use within a day. Go here for more on storing fresh garlic.
Add the roasted garlicky paper to your stash of scraps to later make scrap vegetable broth. The paper will add flavor.