"RoastedGarlic" news and stories

At first glance you might wonder if this is some sort of science project. But what it lacks in immediate familiarity, it makes up for in taste -- especially when you consider it's a simple combination of three of any cook's most important ingredients: garlic, olive oil and coarse salt.

For this head of perfectly roasted garlic, blogger The Brown Eyed Baker simply cut off enough of the bulb to expose the cloves, drizzled them with a tablespoon of olive oil and added a generous sprinkling of salt before covering it with aluminum foil and roasting the entire thing for 40 minutes at 375 degrees F.

Great for use in pasta and pizzas and slathered on bread, those who truly love garlic may have a hard time not eating this straight out of the oven. But whatever you do with those golden-brown cloves, don't forget to save the skins for broth!

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Fancy garlic oil might go for $10 to $20 at a gourmet store, but you can make it yourself for a fraction of the price.

Wait! Don't throw away those roasted garlic leftovers!

One of the best and most successful dishes I have ever made was Butternut Squash and Roasted Garlic Bisque, courtesy of Epicurious and Bon Appetit. It ripped me, and subsequently many others, out of the halls of squash dislike because rather than relying on the over-used habits of squash with sweetness, this soup revels in rich and savory flavors. To this day, it's the best squash soup I've ever had, and it's one that can be made with absolute ease.

When it comes to eggplant, my tastes are fairly simple. I like it salted, brushed with olive oil and grilled, or cut into rounds and broiled. However, once in a while, I want something a bit more sophisticated and showy from my eggplant. Over the weekend, I found myself confronted with two firm, fresh eggplants and so decided to make a dip. I split the eggplants in half, rubbed them with olive oil and roasted them on a parchment lined baking sheet (I also threw a foil-wrapped head of garlic in with them as well).

After half an hour, when the flesh put up no resistance to the tines of a fork, they were done. I let them sit until they were cool enough to handle and then I peeled them into the bowl of a food processor. The roasted garlic went in, along with salt, pepper and some lemon juice. I drizzled in some olive oil while the motor ran. After a minute it was done. It was wonderful just then, still warm and creamy. It's also delicious cold, straight out of the fridge with a tortilla chip. Because the garlic is roasted, the flavor is fairly mild, so it could even be something your kids might dig on. It would also make a good potluck contribution (with a bowl of cut up veggies or crackers) A more organized recipe is after the jump.