How to make the most delicious roasted garlic in the oven
Do you also have a picture in your mind of the perfect bulb of roasted garlic? (We do, because we dream about food all the time.) How creamy, soft, aromatic and spreadable that dream bulb is? Velvety and caramelized, sweet even, and unbelievably delicious. The reality? Roasted garlic is often bitter or sharp, and not at all something you’d happily spread on your crispy oven potatoes. How can you do better?
It’s such a shame: you’ve been looking forward to squeezing those fragrant, softened cloves onto perhaps a slice of delicious sourdough toast, only to end up disappointed… So if you’re worried that you’ll soon be left with a bulb of burnt, bitter mush too, follow these tips:
Low and slow
This is the most important thing. As convenient as it may seem to simply throw the bulb onto the baking sheet where you’re about to scorch some lovely edges onto your roasted vegetables at 220º C – it doesn’t work. The garlic bulb will burn, while the inner core of each clove still won’t be soft when the outside is charred. For a whole bulb of garlic, allow 45 minutes in an oven at no more than 175º C, but slightly longer at an even lower temperature is better still. So you’ll need to plan this carefully around your other dishes.
Wrap it up
Make sure there’s enough oil to reach the cloves: slice a small cap horizontally off the top of the bulb and drizzle the oil over and between the cloves. Wrap it well in aluminum foil and place it in an oven that isn’t too hot for at least 45 minutes. If the cloves haven’t turned lightly brown by the end of the cooking time, you can return the bulb to the oven briefly without the foil.
Unwrap it
After that, you should be able to gently squeeze out each clove once they’re completely soft. Or place the entire bulb on a serving dish next to, for example, those delicious roasted vegetables and perfectly tender chicken breast. Yum!
Also read:
- Old-school garlic bread
- Homemade garlic butter is absurdly delicious and so easy to make
- Recipe: garlic soup with three bulbs (!) of garlic
Source: Mashed
