Roasted garlic is one of the most delicious things on the planet (and beyond, I’m willing to bet). If you’ve ever been to an Italian restaurant where they give you roasted garlic cloves and olive oil to spread on your bread….you know what I’m talking about. It’s the most exciting thing ever when that happens.
Yesterday I made some squash soup (my favorite thing to make in the winter) and the idea popped into my head to add some whole roasted garlic cloves into the soup – as fun little surprises to find with your spoon. Turned out to be a very good idea.
Garlic is awesome to eat when you’re feeling under the weather. It’s nature’s antibiotic! It’s more powerful for healing when you it’s eaten raw, but any garlic, in my opinion, is stellar. And when garlic is roasted, it loses that spicy bite and becomes mellow and buttery.
So here’s the scoop:
Heat oven to 400.
Remove the outer skin and cut the top off the garlic (root side down), so the cloves are exposed:
Drizzle olive oil on the garlic cloves so a little bit of oil gets on each exposed clove. You can also add a little salt and pepper, if you want. Wrap the whole head of garlic in tin foil.
Put the foil-wrapped garlic into a baking dish.
Cook at 400 for about 45 mins, or until the garlic cloves are golden brown in color. You may need a little less or a little more time. You’ll have to unwrap the foil a little bit to peek in.
When the garlic is done, you can use a little paring knife to remove each clove, or squeeze the cloves out of their skin with your fingers once it’s cooled down.
YUM!
You can add roasted garlic to soups, pastas, use it as a delicious spread, or even just eat it with a fork!
What’s your favorite garlicky delight?
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