How to Make Roasted Garlic

If you have never made roasted garlic, you are totally missing out!  I love the depth and richness that roasted garlic brings to food.  It also tames the sharpness of the garlic into a more mild almost sweet version.  Those who normally shy away from garlic because of its strong taste may actually like it this way.

I have used roasted garlic in soups and pestos.  You can also spread it like butter on breads and crackers once its roasted because it has a butter-like consistency.

Garlic is naturally anti-inflammatory.  And has a host of other benefits including: a natural antibiotic; preventing cancer; relieving toothaches, coughs, earaches, and congestion; repels mosquitoes . . . . and much more!

So, needless to say, we should be trying to get more of it daily, if only just to repel those pesky mosquitoes.  However, you might be repelling people with your garlic breath as well!   I’ll take my chances . . . .

There was a concern about the use of aluminum in the recipe.  As crazy as I am about not using aluminum pans, I didn’t really think this was a concern for me because:

• the un-edible exterior is still covering the garlic
• the garlic is not acidic
• aluminum use is so infrequent for me that I didn’t think it was going to hurt anything even though I doubt it was entering the garlic
  

However, I realize this is a concern with those who have heavy metal issues.  To adjust for this concern here area few suggestions from various places:

• Put the garlic in a glass pan and cover with an oven safe top.  It might take a little longer to cook.  Also, try to use a dutch oven and pack it up with a ton of garlic to speed up the heating process.  It’s saves time and energy to do several at once rather than one at a time anyway, no?  (Got that fantastic ide-er from a commenter on Facebook).

• There are CLAY POTs that you can roast garlic in individually.  You can get them here.

• There was another suggestion to cover the garlic in parchment paper then wrap in foil.  I think I like this idea the best.
  

Gather a whole garlic and a good quality olive oil.

 Leaving the outer skin on, cut off about 1/4 inch of the pointy part of the garlic (not where the roots are).

Drizzle with olive oil.

 Wrap garlic in foil and place in a preheated 400 degree oven for 30-35 minutes.  The garlic should squish like the consistency of room temp butter when finished.  You can squeeze the garlic out from the outer layer once slightly cooled.  Use in various dishes or just spread it on some toast!

**You can squeeze the garlic out of the outer paper and into a small covered dish to refrigerate for up to 5 days if you don’t plan to use it right away.

Recipes to Use with Roasted Garlic

Curried Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

Roasted Red Pepper Pesto

Arroz Caldo – Ginger Chicken and Rice Soup

Cilantro Lime Pesto

Post links to: Real Food Wed, Thank Your Body, Simple Lives, Pennywise Platter, Monday Mania, Fat Tuesday, Scratch Cookin’, Hearth and Soul,