Recipe Junction

Our Favorite Recipes'

How to roast garlic

Roasted garlic simply adds fabulous flavor

Slow-roasting mellows garlic, making it soft and buttery sweet. If you roast a few heads whenever you fire up the oven, you will always have a supply of what may become your favorite condiment.

Mix roasted garlic into mashed potatoes, spread it on bread or pizza crust, swirl it into soups, add it to vegetables and pasta, serve it with roasted meat or stir it into vinaigrette or mayonnaise for a sandwich spread.

These days I can't imagine not having a head or two of roasted garlic in my refrigerator – tightly sealed in a screw-top jar, as I learned the hard way, or the fridge will take on a garlic odor.

How to roast garlic

Place oven rack in the lower-middle position, and heat the oven to 325 degrees.

Remove the outer layers of papery skin from four firm garlic heads. Slice off the top third of each head, exposing most of the cloves. Place the garlic heads, cut side up, on a square of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Drizzle 1/2 teaspoon olive oil over each, and sprinkle with salt.

Wrap foil around heads, and roast until they are very soft, about 1 hour. Uncover and roast 15 minutes more, until golden brown.

Here are more tips:

Use fresh garlic, not old bulbs that have begun sprouting.

To avoid burning the garlic, don't roast at more than 350 degrees.

When you are ready to use the garlic, pop the cloves out of their papery shells with a push from the bottom. The roasted garlic mashes easily with a fork.

For recipes that require whole roasted cloves, separate and peel them raw, then roast them.

Refrigerate roasted garlic for up to five days or freeze it for up to two months.

Bow-tie Pasta With Roasted Garlic and Eggplant

4 servings

• 1 1/2 pounds eggplant (2 small or 1 large), cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 head roasted garlic (see instructions)
• 1 pound cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, minced
• 1 pound bow-tie pasta or rigatoni or
• 3 ounces fresh mozzarella, cut into small pieces

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Brush 2 tablespoons of the oil onto both sides of the eggplant slices; season with salt and pepper. Place on 2 baking sheets. Roast until nicely browned, 20 to 25 minutes. When cool enough to handle, dice and set aside.

Put a pot of water on to boil. Squeeze the garlic pulp into a large bowl with remaining 4 tablespoons oil, mashing to blend. Stir in the tomatoes, basil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste.

Add 2 tablespoons salt and the pasta to boiling water; cook according to package instructions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water. Add pasta to serving bowl containing tomato mixture, along with eggplant and mozzarella; toss to combine. Add cooking water as needed to loosen sauce.

Per serving: 729 calories (34 percent from fat), 28 g fat (6.4 g saturated), 19 mg cholesterol, 22 g protein, 99 g carbohydrates, 8.3 g fiber, 110.5 mg sodium.

Prior | Submit your recipe | Next

Add to Your Social Bookmarks: Del.icio.us Digg Furl Reddit Simpy Spurl Y! MyWeb - StumbleUpon