Roasted Garlic
The first time I tasted roasted, whole garlic was in a restaurant called Bistro 110. This was about 1983. My best friend had ordered it for us to share.
I sat stunned, staring at it, when it arrived at the table.
The waiter set down a plate that had a whole bulb of garlic on it. The top was cut off and there was olive oil drizzled over it. Bread pieces came with it. The smell was divine, but it looked like a sloppy mess to eat and I didn’t have a clue where to start.
My friend Michele realized, that even as a foodie, I had no clue what to do.
“You just eat it like this,” she said as she demonstrated taking her fork and using a prong to pull out one clove of the warm, soft garlic and spread it across a piece of French bread.
I caught on, but I still wrinkled up my nose.
My only experience with garlic was in things like lasagna. I knew how pungent garlic could be if you used too much. I made that mistake once.
I had visions of putting a bite of that in my mouth and getting a fiery garlic flavor that would be overwhelming. Almost hot even.
I bucked up and dug in because Michele was way ahead of me already and she wasn’t even reaching for her water glass, so I thought it must be okay.
My first bite was quite the surprise...
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Roasted Garlic
This is a super-easy way to roast garlic. Once roasted, garlic no longer tastes hot and pungent. It mellows as it roasts and can even be made into a spread. You could also add some of this roasted garlic to a batch of cooked green beans or asparagus for a nice flavor combo.
Ingredients:
1 bulb of regular garlic
1 – 2 Tbl of olive oil
Instructions:
Just cut off the fuzzy top of the garlic down far enough that you’ll be able to see the cut side of most of the cloves nestled in the wrapper. I cut down about an inch from the top. Use a sharp knife or if you slip you might slice yourself.
Get out a square of aluminum foil and place the garlic flat side down on the foil. Drizzle one or two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over the cut top and wrap the garlic in the foil like a pouch. I place it in another dish in case any oil oozes out. You don’t want that on the bottom of your oven, burning.
Then roast the garlic about 30 minutes at 400 degrees. And voila. You can check to make sure it’s done by poking it with a sharp paring knife. If it slides easily the garlic will be soft to eat. It’s ready. Open the foil. You can take it out of the foil or leave it in. Your choice. Let it cool a bit so you don’t burn your mouth. Serve it with seed crackers to keep it very low-carb. If it’s a splurge occasion you can serve this with small slices of French bread. A tasty treat.
Enjoy!
Cheers,
Zola
