Raw garlic… It’s one of those things that you either love or you hate. And, I hate it.
That’s one of my biggest complaints with most salad dressing recipes… If you ask me, there’s no better way to ruin a dish than to throw in some raw garlic! Even if you use a garlic press to make sure that there are no big chunks of garlic, I can still pick it out if it’s raw. Trust me.
For a long time, I bought a lot of prepared salad dressings… They typically don’t have any raw garlic in them. But, I really like to make my own dressings, so I’ve learned to get around the raw garlic. Instead of using raw garlic in the recipes, I just substitute roasted garlic. Seems simple, right? It is! I’m really not sure why it took me so long to figure it out!
As much as I hate the flavor of raw garlic, I really do love the flavor of the roasted garlic… It gets kind of sweet and slightly nutty when it is roasted. Yum!
Even if you don’t mind some raw garlic in your dressing, I think you’ll want to give the roasted garlic a try… I make it in big batches and store it in the fridge so that I have it on hand whenever I need it. It works for me, and I hope it will work for you, too!
Roasted Garlic
- 1 large head of garlic (approximately 10 cloves)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Slice the top off of the head of garlic, cutting down just far enough to expose the tops of the cloves. Place the garlic cut side up on a piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle the garlic with the olive oil (a teaspoon or two). Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Wrap up the garlic in the foil and roast it in the oven for 35 – 40 minutes, until the cloves are soft. Cool the garlic until it can be handled. Gently squeeze to pop out the cloves. Use in your favorite recipes or transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator (for about a week or so).
Roasted garlic is sublime. And so freaking easy to make.
I love roasted garlic in mashed potatoes. Good idea making big batches and storing it!
Yummy! I love roasted garlic squeezed right out of the paper and smeared on bread like butter.
Yum! I agree with Jennifer, roasted garlic is fab in mashed potatoes. I also like to spread it on a chunk of bread. Mmmmm… Odd that I’m now craving roasted garlic for breakfast?
I love to roast garlic. It’s so easy and it has so many uses.
I agree, I hate raw garlic in anything. Roasted garlic-totally differenct story. I can that with just crackers!
I don’t mind raw garlic, but roasted garlic is SO much better. I didn’t realize I could store it in the fridge – good tip, thanks!
This is my favorite way to eat garlic too! It’s delicious spread on lightly toasted rustic Italian bread. So many delicious ways to use this!
i adore roasted garlic…altho i can never get it to just “pop” out like everyone says. i always end up smushing it all over my fingers and the rest of the clove! maybe i just need to practice more :)
I love love roasted garlic. I incorporate roasted garlic when I could.
A favorite pizza topping!
This is wonderful and so timely! I need to roast some garlic for an Easter recipe and I’ve never done it before…now I know how. Thanks!!
I love roasted garlic in pasta dishes or spread on top of baguette. Yuuuum!
I love the flavor of roasted garlic as well, I need to remember to make it more often.
O.k.now I’m totally craving roasted garlic…
I’m garlic obsessed and roasting it is such a good way to bring out so much flavor.
I love roasted garlic and always forget how simple it is! Great how-to post!
I can just smell that garlic roasting – one of my favorite kitchen aromas!!
A cheater’s tip – you can pop a few unpeeled cloves of garlic drizzled w/olive oil in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds to remove that “raw” garlic taste! They’ll pop out of the skin and be soft but won’t have that roasted sweetness.
Hi! -just found your blog and like it very much :-)
I recently tried roasting garlic in my very small crock pot – I think it’s a one quart. I did one head as an experiment and it worked great, but I could fit more in next time. It took longer than the oven method, but I think it’s more cost effective unless you already had the oven going for something.