Kitchen Project: Roasted Garlic

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For my second (whoo-hoo!) Kitchen Project installment, where I share some culinary basics, I thought I'd cover (brace yourself) roasting garlic. I know, I know! It was the ingredient du jour about 10 years ago, and these days, it has fallen off of our collective radars. But not here! Here, I am going to (hopefully) remind you of how nutty and rich an ingredient, slow cooked cloves of garlic really are. And just because I'm cheeky, this recipe is actually for oil poached garlic, but the outcome is the same, flavor wise, as roasting.

Now, some people have gone so far as buying a fancy garlic roaster, but that just leaves you with a messy head of garlic, and yet another gadget cluttering your kitchen. Not here though. Here its all about (admittedly time consuming, but still fab) simplicity.

As with my last foray into this idea of sharing the little concepts, this is not something that you can whip out in a flash. It's a process that will take patience and time, but in the end you will be rewarded indeed. It is the perfect thing to do while you are making roasted peppers, carmelizing onions or just have an urge to spend some time by the stove.

First off, pick up a few bulbs of garlic. Did you know there are (at last unofficial count) 600 different varieties? It's crazy man. But no matter what type you choose, you should look for compact bulbs with dry paper exteriors and plump cloves.

Once you've got that settled, its time to peel. Go ahead and break the bulb apart by turning it root side up on your counter and pushing down on the root with the palm of your hand. Presto. Individual cloves. Now peel. You can use a garlic peeler (I kinda dig um) or you can just continue smashing down on each clove with either the broad side of a knife or your palm. Of course, you can also buy pre-peeled, but those tend to have less flavor. When they are peeled (I tend to do about 4 bulbs at a time. The time is well worth it) slice the tiny root end off.

Add the cloves to an oven proof pan, dish, ramekin, whatever, that will just hold them. Pour your cheaper olive oil over to cover, then cover with foil and bake in the oven at 375F for about 35-45 minutes. (Oh, and in case it bubbles over, put the pan on top of a baking sheet or some foil) They are done when a knife goes through a clove with ease. Remove from the oven and let cool. (Hot oil is a nasty burn, so be careful, ya?)

Puree the cooled garlic with just a little of the oil. Reserve the rest for another use. Bonus, two for one!

Store the garlic in the refrigerator covered with a thin layer of oil for up to six days. Delicious.

It is a perfect spread on its own, as an addition to hummus, as a thickener for soup, mixed with butter and smeared under the skin of a (to be) roasted chicken or in (tomorrows exciting recipe) Roasted Garlic and Leek Savory Bread Pudding.

Try it, and enjoy!

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Garlic has been utilized as both food and medicine for more than 5000 years. Curing garlic is the process by which the outer leaf sheaths and neck tissues of the bulb are dried. Under favorable climatic conditions in California, the garlic is usually cured in the field.

If you have trouble peeling garlic cloves, try soaking them in warm water for 10 to 15 minutes first.