Roasted garlic

There is something magical that happens when you put a head of garlic into the oven and wait patiently for it to transform itself into roasted garlic. The flavours mellow, the texture changes and its pretty much a cooking miracle. There is a chemical change that occurs in the oven. This makes the roasted garlic easier to digest. For the truly committed there is black garlic which is created over the course of several weeks. If you’re curious you can find out more about it here. But that isn’t why we are gathered here today. Today we are talking about my new obsession, roasted garlic.

I actually just finished planting all my garlic for next year. I’m in Zone 5 here in Ontario, so mid October is the perfect garlic planting time before the winter rears its’ ugly head. I planted 7 different kinds, 5 hardneck varieties and 2 softneck ones. So I will have to wait until next summer to see how I make out.

Roasted garlic can be used in a variety of ways. Some people like to eat it right out of the oven and others spread it on toast. Myself, I love to add it to mashed potatoes. This is low level life changing if I’m being honest. It’s not going to cure world hunger but it may just put a smile on your face if you’ve had a rough day and you need some serious comfort food. For me, that comfort food is my roasted garlic mashed potatoes and gravy, and voila I am in my happy place. I seriously smiled just as I type it. Soft fluffy, garlicy potatoes surrounded by a sea of gravy… Yum! Anyway, let me walk you through the process so you can see just how simple it is.

The first thing you are going to need is a head of garlic. The second thing you are going to need is some olive oil. And finally, you need some handy dandy aluminum foil. Once you have this trifecta then you are golden.

Take a second to set the oven to 400F and let it preheat. Take the head of garlic and remove most of the papery skin. Then you are going to want to cut the top off the bulb. You are going to want to cut about 1/4″ – 1/2″ from the top of the cloves. You want to take the top off of each and every clove.

If you save your kitchen scraps (which you should totally do) then be sure not to waste the little garlic ends. Set then aside and you can pop them in a freezer bag.

Then grab a piece of aluminum foil and place the head of garlic in the centre. Drizzle the garlic in olive oil.

Then you can wrap the foil around the garlic and it is ready to go into the oven.

Pop the garlic into the oven and set the timer for 40-45 minutes. When the timer goes, take it carefully out father oven and take a peek. You want the cloves to be soft and golden in colour. If necessary, pop it back in for another 5-10 minutes.

Print Recipe

Roasted Garlic

Delicious, smooth and good for you, ro garlic is one of my favourites!

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time1 hr

Total Time1 hr 5 mins

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: garlic, roasted garlic

Servings: 1

Calories: 165kcal

Cost: 2

Equipment

• Aluminum foil

Ingredients

• 1 Garlic
• 1 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400F.
• Carefully cut the top 1/4” off the cloves, leaving the bulb whole.
• Place the bulb of garlic on a piece of aluminium foil.
• Drizzle the olive oil over the cloves.
• Tightly wrap the head of garlic in the foil and place in the oven.
• Cook for 45 min – 1 hour.

That’s it. Super easy and hella delicious!