How to Roast Garlic
If feeling:
lonely, bored, restless, hungry, smell deprived, sleep deprived, cold, greedy, kooky, crazy, cabin fevery, sun deprived, snow deprived, sullen, extraordinary, sluggish or spicy…
Might I suggest turning up the oven and roasting a bulb of garlic?
Hello, garlic.
I’m gonna chop your head off and put oil in your brains.
Salt and pepper. Salt and pepper. Salt and pepper. Salt and pepper and paper.
Wrap it up. Tie it up.
I used parchment paper and a kitchen string. If you want to use foil… you totally should. I was out. I got creative.
When roasted, garlic turn into something sweet, aromatic, creamy, spreadable and utterly dream worthy. Your breath will still me an absolute nightmare… but just deal with it.
I hid my freshly roasted garlic in between butter and mashed avocado on this (burnt) toast. I didn’t need the butter or the avocado… but I like layers of delicious. I also like burnt toast.
How to Roast Garlic
Makes: one head of garlic
1 head of garlic
about 2 tablespoons olive oil
about 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
about 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Place a baking sheet in the oven as the oven preheats.
If your garlic head is covered in several layers of white skin, peal off a few layers. Keep several layers around to hold the head together. With a sharp knife, cut the top off the head of garlic exposing a bit of each each clove of garlic.
Place garlic head in a piece of foil or parchment paper. Drizzle olive oil on top. Top with a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper. Seal the foil around the garlic or parchment paper. If using parchment paper, use a kitchen string to seal the little package.
Place on the pan in the oven and roast for 30 to 40 minutes, or until completely tender when poked with a fork or knife.
Allow to cool slightly before spreading on toast or adding to pasta. It’s delicious.
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Ok- so I have been reading food blogs for YEARS now. And at some point in the last year or so- I thought, ok enough is enough, I’ve got my favorites. I have enough food blogs to read.
And then I found you. And you are awesome. So many people already know this- but I thought you should know that I am now obsessed with your blog. Carry on.
I love, eat and sleep garlic, I rarely ever get a cold or the flu. I alway’s make sure that if I eat you eat… then we can kiss. I love this blog… I have a friend who has started a blog called “Eating Naked”
If the ingredient list has any additives or are processed they do not make the list. I am passing this on to her.
Oh wow. With buttered sour dough…..mmmmm…..I’m totally doing this today, its a duvet day here in England.
Didn´t say Mrs Beckham that Spain Smells to Ajos (garlic)? I love the smell and flavour that ajos give off and I must tell you that the idea of roasting them is great and of course I´ll make Roasted Ajos!
great for a tipical spanish recipe original from Barcelona “pa amb tomàquet ” (bread and tomato)
Love your blog and cooking!
Mararia
thanks for this! somehow i always end up burning mine. oy.
Okay, so one day I needed roasted garlic (can’t remember what for) in a big hurry so I wondered whether you can roast it in the microwave. I looked around on the web and found instructions. Despite what was posted on some other sites, the definitive answer is NO! It totally burned in my microwave, and the small took weeks to fade away despite numerous cleanings. So don’t do it. Ever. Stick to the oven and everything will be fine. Love roasted garlic!
Oh yum! That looks divine :)
Yum– Most of my favorite things go on toast: eggs, honey, cinnamon, butter, almond butter. Garlic sounds like a great addition to this list.
Thanks for the reminder of how something so simple can be so amazing!
There aren’t too many smells that can come from a kitchen that rival that of roasting garlic. It’s a cure for the soul :)
And here I thought I was the only one who liked burnt toast…
You are a genius!!! I can’t wait to try this. Seriously, STAT. I could care less if my breath smells. If you’re truly dedicated, it doesn’t matter. :)
Oh, I am so in. Just bought garlic and french bread yesterday.
ah, garlic. it is my favorite and it is my best. last night i tossed steamed green beans with a bit of olive oil and roasted garlic. now i’m going to put it on well cooked buttered sourdough toast (my other favorite and best) with mashed avocado because that just sounds too yum!!!
It’s so wonderful now and so… not, later on. Two people eating garlic cancel each other out though. So if you must consume it… be sure to share it with the one you love or you will be left quite alone for while.
Haha, smell deprived. :P
That toast looks excellent with all that delicious avacado.
Splendida idea, ciao
Burnt toast never looked so good!
Yay for burnt toast!
I wish it were acceptable to have garlic breath. I LOVE garlic. :) good thing my boyfriend isn’t a vampire. I haven’t roasted garlic in a very long time…might have to add that to my grocery list today!
HAHAHAHA! My breath would be deadly after this… but so would my husband’s. So, it’s ok.
Roasted garlic is so nice, i also like to put thyme in the paper
Mmmmmmmm I love roasted garlic.
Joy, I’m one of those that read your blog all.the.time and never comment -this, of all things, I had to comment! I’ve made many of your baked goods (hello, pumpkin pie bars – delish!), but this was just heavenly on the homemade pizza with figs and goat cheese. Thought I needed to share. Thank YOU for sharing!!
If I eat the whole thing by myself, will I live to tell?
heck yes you will.
i dreamt about this last night. i dreamyt about roast garlic, roast garlic mash, and all the wonderful things i would eat it with.. you know what the worst part was? waking up and realising that i don’t have an oven (renovating), and that i can’t make this today. i NEED roast garlic in my life…
A few weeks ago I got a nasty bout of mastitis, my fourth in 9 months. (Sorry – this is probably TMI for a first-time commenter. On a FOOD blog, no less. Not where people come to hear gory grossness.)
In any event, I didn’t want to take antibiotics again, so I did some medical research (obviously, I am referring to Dr. Google) and discovered that raw garlic can work as a natural antibiotic.
After chewing about 6-7 cloves of raw garlic a day for 2.5 days, the mastitis was gone.
However, I am pretty sure I smelled like a whole head of raw garlic for several days after that.
And now I am craving the DELICIOUS kind of garlic (a.k.a. ROASTED garlic). So thank you for this beautiful and humorous post reminding me how to perfectly roast some.
My husband will be super excited. ;)
ps. I just discovered your site, but you already have a faithful reader in me after going back through some of your old posts and your About Me page. Your posts (and you!) are delightful!
Roasted garlic is always heaven. BUT I’ve never tried it with avocado. Back here avocado is always eaten as a desert/fruit and nothing else. I wonder if I’ll get the courage to try this… I’ll let you know.
avocado as a desert.could u tell me some ideas. i love avocados almost as much as garlic.
Interesting, where are you from? I’ve never heard of it eaten as anything but savoury.
Okay. So now I’ll be dreaming of garlic until I make this. Yum!! Can’t wait.
Oh, this would be great for the oven toaster! I’m gonna try it, surprise my hubby tonight! Thank you for reminding me.
love, piggledy
I have to admit that I roast 6 or 7 heads of garlic at a time, in my tortilla warmer! I probably go a little bit darker than you show yours. I then peel the cloves, oh so carefully, so they keep their shape, and pack them into (good) olive oil in glass jars. (I use fresh oil every time.) I keep them in the cupboard. Whenever a recipe calls for garlic, I haul out my roasted garlic cloves and put (at least) however many the recipe calls for through my garlic press. You never have to cook the garlic in the recipe – that part is already done. I also use the oil to saute with – it’s certainly garlic infused! That uses the oil up, so none is wasted. As long as I keep the cloves covered in oil, I have not had any spoilage. To us, the roasted clove is so much sweeter and has a depth of flavor you don’t get from the raw clove. It doesn’t take any longer to roast multiple heads than to roast one; the only really time consuming part is peeling the cloves out afterwards. I use my kitchen scissors to literally cut down the side of the paper of each clove, and then they just pop right out. I do soak the top of the tortilla warmer in water for ten minutes while I chop off the top of the garlic heads and add the oil, salt, and pepper. My warmer is glazed inside on the bottom, so cleanup is easy. Maybe next time I will line it with paper so there will be NO cleanup! I use lots of garlic when I cook – we think it wards off catching colds by making other people stay away from us! If a recipe calls for an onion, you can pretty much bet I’m adding either garlic or cooking the onion in garlic oil.
Your post was fabulous! I love to cook and found a man 3 and 1/2 years ago who will eat whatever I make. He has been requesting roasted garlic (long, long time) I finally got the nerve up to taste it at a restaurant and love it. Today I googled it and found you. You are so creative with your writing that it forced me to use my sweeties garlic roasting dish and pop one in the oven! Wish me luck, thank you!!
Shelley
Hello, love your blog. When I roast several garlic heads, I usually use my muffin tin or tins depending on how many I’m roasting. It keeps the heads upright and I never have to worry about my garlic falling over. Diana
Just found your site this evening… as I was roasting garlic (to go over my baked potato) in my lil toaster oven…. I cant wait to roast the entire bulb and enjoy! Thank you!
Great tutorial! Would you be able to roast gardic that was already out of the “head” such as pre peeled garlic? Also, I’m trying a garlic cupcake recipe which calls for roasted garlic. Should I still add salt & pepper to the garlic in the roasting process? Thanks a bunch!
Thanks! Love the humor and my garlic is now roasting in the oven! : )
Many, many, super-big thanks for the roasted garlic post. I’m making a roasted garlic/carrot/potato mash for Thanksgiving, and your pictures/words of encouragement make me 10x more excited than I was before. :)
Roasted garlic is great and sooo easy to make. We use a roaster but have also done them on the grill in tin foil. Green garlic is another way to eat garlic earlier in the spring. It is like green onion and scallions but with a garlicky flavor. You can use it on a salad, in soups or anything you would use regular garlic in.
Rickertville Farm. rickertville.com
Roasted garlic is dangerous! …because I always eat too much and end up smelling like a garlic clove for days…
Love you Joy!