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. ย Salt and pepper. ย Salt and pepper. ย Salt and pepper and paper.
Wrap it up. ย Tie it up.
I used parchment paper and a kitchen string. ย If you want to use foil… you totally should. ย I was out. ย I got creative.
When roasted, garlic turn into something sweet, aromatic, creamy, spreadable and utterly dream worthy. ย Your breath will still me an absolute nightmare… but ย just deal with it.
I hid my freshly roasted garlic in between butter and mashed avocado on this (burnt) toast. ย I didn’t need the butter or the avocado… but I like layers of delicious. ย I also like burnt toast.
How to Roast Garlic
Makes: ย 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. ย 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. ย Keep several layers around to hold the head together. ย 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. ย Drizzle olive oil on top. ย Top with a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper. ย Seal the foil around the garlic or parchment paper. ย 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. ย It’s delicious.
184 Responses
I have always used garlic whenever and wherever possible. I didn’t know what the phrase “too much garlic” might possibly mean. That said, once I discovered the sheer magic of roasting garlic I never looked back. My only contribution to this duscussion is that when I actually roasted more than I needed for Thankgiving mashed potatoes and left the extras in the fridge for a week (o.k. more than that!) I remembered it and used it to no fault whatsoever. The aliums are packed with sulfur (natural antibiotc and antifungal…think about that during flu season) and the olive oil also preserves. It keeps WELL.
My grandfather adored burnt toast (and black bananas).
Dear Joy,
I was just thinking about this recipe yesterday. This was the first page I ever read on your blog. I was finishing highschool, and lived in a 800 ft apartment with my family of 6 in a big city. After reading this recipe, one of my secret thrills was to, while everyone was gone, secretly roast a whole head of garlic and eat it. I would open the kitchen window and brush my teeth to ensure that the secret stayed with me. I just thought you would appreciate knowing that. I would also sometimes stealthily make these (but sometimes I would share): https://joythebaker.com/2011/12/peanut-butter-banana-and-oat-milkshake/. :)
Love,
your weird long time reader,
L