Recipes by Zola - Caramelized Roasted Garlic

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Caramelized Roasted Garlic

Zola Gorgon

A bug named Larry...

Callie came along on the trip. Callie is 4 years old. She’s my brother Bob’s first grandchild and he and the rest of the family are smitten with Callie. We love all of our nieces and nephews and some of them are having children now. The family is growing….and growing.

The first thing Callie was fascinated with were the bugs clinging to the screen door. She decided to name the first one she saw Larry. Not soon after, she realized that she could not tell one from the other, so they all became Larry. Then Larry became plural because you could have more than one Larry on the screen at the same time. So now you have Larries. Then there were dead Larries; the not so fortunate ones that lay lifeless on the deck. Larries came by the hundreds. Replacing the dead ones with new Larries was not a problem. Good thing is they were just lacewing moths. They don’t bite. They don’t make noise. They just cling to screens and windows so you can admire them and address them as Larry.

You know you’re relaxing on vacation when the topic of the hour is to discuss how many Larries you can count.

One morning, later in the week, I was awakened by a much larger creature. I could hear them calling from the green outside our window. They sound just like I imagine a pterodactyl sounded. It was a deafening sound that came just after sunrise. CAW, CAW. From my experience, they usually travel in two’s. Unlike Larry the moth, these creatures were over 4’ tall, standing majestically on the lawn. It’s a rude awakening, but it’s such an ancient pronouncement when they arrive, that you tumble out of bed like it’s Christmas morning. You just want to see them.

They are cranes. Wisconsin has one of the world’s great crane foundations; dedicated to the preservation of cranes, so sometimes we are treated to cranes stopping by (http://www.galenfrysinger.com/whooping_cranes.htm).

Cranes stopping by behind my bedroom at our Madison house grew old. I didn’t like getting up at 4:45 AM to the sound of screaming cranes, but cranes stopping by at 6AM on vacation seemed like a gift.

One lady, who was staying in another resort unit nearby, spoiled it for us all by bounding across the lawn to get a closer look and a photo. Doesn’t she know that’s what a zoom lens is for? And doesn’t she realize that cranes are rather shy creatures? Try as she might to get close to them they kept their distance. Then they lost their patience with this pesky woman and flew off. The cranes didn’t stay long enough for Callie to wake up and name them. Darn.

Maybe next year.

Caramelized Roasted Garlic
This week’s recipe is about as easy as they get; with one trick. You’ll want to roast the garlic until it’s lightly golden on the edges and the timing depends on your oven, the size of the garlic and the amount of oil you use.

This recipe serves 4 with crackers as an appetizer

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Ingredients:
1 head of garlic peeled and divided into individual cloves. (You can also use a few cloves of elephant garlic. Just cut them into half to 1-inch chunks.)
Olive oil

This is an amazingly versatile recipe. My husband could not believe I had not yet written it up for you. Don’t be afraid of this garlic. When you roast garlic this way it become mellow; not harsh. It becomes soft as creamy cheese and can be spread.

The first thing you need is a small, oven-proof container to roast the garlic in. Some people just wrap the garlic in aluminum foil. I don’t agree with this technique. I want the garlic immersed in the oil but with just enough of the garlic tops sticking out (exposed to the oven temp) so they start to brown. Any garlic will brown in aluminum foil if you leave it in long enough but this way you can keep an eye on it and know exactly when it’s done. I use a large ramekin to roast my garlic. You can use a little oven-proof pot or a piece of bakeware too. If you have to use a 9 by 9-inch pan (which I had to do on vacation once), I built a little wall of aluminum foil to block off most of the pan surface. That worked. but a smaller vessel is ideal.

When I separate the garlic cloves I only use the larger chunks. Save the bitty ones for another use. Place the garlic chunks in the small, oven-proof container. Pour garlic oil over the top until it reaches almost to the top of the garlic -- a half-inch or maybe more. Roast at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Check then to see if your garlic is beginning to brown. If it is, remove it from the oven to cool. If it’s not browning yet, add 10 minute increments until it is browning; just a bit and then remove it to cool.

Leave in the olive oil until it’s cooled down. Then you can take it out and mash it in a container with a fork to make a paste. It’s not a pretty concoction but you can spread this on bread or serve it with crackers for an exotic appetizer.

You also have the option of using the recipe to make roasted garlic mashed potatoes. When you are ready to mash the potatoes you can add the caramelized garlic and oil into the pot along with salt and begin mashing. You can then judge if you want to add cream or milk to get the consistency you like. If you use Yukon gold potatoes you aren’t even likely to need milk. The oil and garlic whipped into the potatoes make a smooth side dish.

Let your imagination run wild. I’ve used the caramelized, roasted garlic as a spread on toasted Italian or French bread and then topped it with all kinds of things to make different kinds of bruschetta. I’ve also used it as a paste to roast meat or inserted it inside the meat. You can also include it as a portion of an antipasti platter. This might be the one “homemade” item on the platter and get the rest from a deli. Or add it to roasted asparagus at the end of roasting time and you’ll have garlic-roasted asparagus. Or green beans. Or peas.

You can roast the garlic along side any other item you have in the oven (except maybe baked goods). That way the oven is working on more than one thing at a time. You can even do the roasting at 350 degrees or 400 degrees. Just adjust your roasting time accordingly. Lest I confuse you by giving too many options, I’ll quit now.

Enjoy!
Cheers,
Zola

Send email to Zola at dinnerwithzola@hotmail.com.

This news arrived on: 06/29/2009

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