Serves 4
Prep time | 10 minutes
Cooking time | 1 hour
Garlic is an ingredient I can’t live without. While it’s in season and generally cheaper, I love to buy a heap of it and make this beautiful roast garlic. It’s a smooth, sweet, nutty paste that has dozens of uses. See the notes below for some of them.
Of course, you don’t have to turn the oven on especially for this, and you don’t have to make a large quantity. If you’re roasting a chook or have the oven on for something else, throw in a head of garlic to roast along with it.
Ingredients
• 10 heads of garlic
• olive oil
• sea salt
Method
1. Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan forced).
2. Slice the tops off the heads of garlic, exposing the tops of most of the cloves. Place the heads into a small baking dish and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt flakes.
3. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until the garlic is very soft. Remove from the oven and allow to cool enough to handle. Take the papery skin from the outside of the heads of garlic and squeeze each clove onto a cutting board. It should squeeze out like toothpaste from a tube, and mash very easily with a fork. If there is any resistance at all, return the garlic to the oven for a bit longer.
4. Mash the garlic with a fork and place in an airtight container. Cover with a layer of olive oil and store in the fridge.
Cook’s note | uses for roast garlic
• Slice some Turkish bread or sourdough, brush with olive oil and grill or bake. Spread with a thin layer of roast garlic paste. Great on its own, or top with chopped tomatoes and herbs.
• Add to pasta sauces instead of fresh garlic for a mellower flavour
• Use in flavoured butter for roasting chicken
• Add a dollop to hearty soups
• Mix with olive oil and salt and serve in a little pot on an antipasto platter
• Use in salad dressings
• Beautiful on green beans or other green vegetables – add to the sauté pan and toss well
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