How to Roast Garlic And Three Ways To Use It

Every once in a while, I will embrace garlic breath. Why? Because it is just too tasty. After weighing the consequences (garlic breath), I find that it isn’t enough to stop me.

Once, while making a salad at Whole Foods, I loaded it up with lots of roasted garlic cloves. That was the day I realized I liked garlic. Once cooked, garlic turns savory, and I daresay a smidge sweet. That description, however, is open for discussion. The original spiciness mellows into an excellent tasting garlic treat. The following day after I loaded said salad with what might have been half of a bulb of garlic, I emitted a slight garlic smell. And while I may not suggest delving into THAT much garlic, a roasted bulb of garlic is delicious.

Another mistake I made early in my cooking days was that I added an entire bulb of garlic to the recipe when I soon realized that a clove was just a piece of the garlic. Um, I only made that mistake once.

One of the best ways to eat garlic is to roast it. While it is cooking, the aroma fills the house, and you can imagine you are in a villa in Tuscany eating olives while the man from your latest romance novel rides up on a stallion to whisk you away. Seriously, it smells that good.

Instructions for roasting:

First you cut the top off the garlic.

After that, you drizzle it with olive oil.

Next, you will bake in a covered dish for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. This picture is an example of the garlic baker that I have. You can find it here. I have also baked single bulbs in an oven-safe ramekin topped with foil.

It comes out of the oven golden brown and soft. Once the bulb cools, squeeze each clove out into some butter. You can adjust the amount of flavor with how much butter you use. I would start with about 1/4 cup. Now let me give you some delicious ways to use garlic butter.

3 Ways to Use Garlic Butter:

Sauté green beans

Spread a clove on some bread and dip in a mixture of olive oil and pesto.

Top mashed potatoes with it. My girls, Rachel and Marin, LOVE potatoes. If you are what you eat, then my girls would be equal parts of potatoes, butter, and bacon.

Need some more ways to add garlic into your life? Try this post from BON APPÉTIT.