Roasted Garlic

We have a fancy little terracotta garlic roaster that we seem to use about once every never.  We love garlic and making roasted garlic couldn't be simpler so you'd think it would get used more often.  But the problem with our roaster is that it's not very big and almost impossible to roast more than one head of garlic at a time.  So the garlic roaster has been replaced by a left over pie-crust tin.

The obvious question here is, 'why hold on to a garlic roaster that we will probably never use?'  We keep it because it serves as a beacon.  A sign.  When we are rummaging through our cramped cabinets looking for a rolling pin, we will occasionally see Mr. Terracotta hiding behind the waffle maker shouting "Don't forget that you love roasted garlic!".  And to be honest, in our normal busy day to day, we really don't think about garlic that much... so it is a welcome reminder. 

Roasting garlic is inexpensive, easy, makes the house smell great and above all else... tastes fantastic.  The roasting process removes the bite that fresh garlic has and leaves almost a nutty flavor and a smooth texture.  All you need from the store is a loaf of fresh bread and a few heads of garlic.  When selecting your garlic avoid heads where you can see cloves that have started to go bad.  You will see black or dark areas under the papery skin that will indicate this.  A quick look at the bottom will ensure you have fresh garlic to roast.

Preheat your oven to 400.  Remove as much of the paper from the garlic that you can while leaving enough to let the head maintain its form.  I normally cut about the top 1/4 off the head to get good exposure to the garlic cloves.  Put the heads of garlic in a baking dish or on a cookie sheet (I use an old pie-crust tin) and drizzle the tops with olive oil and add a little black pepper and sea-salt.  Adding about 1/4 cup of water to the dish will help keep them from sticking and from drying out.  Cover with a little foil and bake for 45-60 minutes. 

When they are done roasting let rest until they are cool enough to handle.  The roasted garlic should just pop out of the head with a little squeeze.  Put two or three cloves on a slice of fresh bread and break up and spread with a fork.  Sprinkle a pinch of sea-salt on top and enjoy!   Nothing better.