I share a lot of recipes with you on this blog... lots of them easy, some of them more involved, but I realized earlier this week, that sometimes I put ingredients in the recipes that I know how to make, but a lot of people would just go out and buy. So I decided I'm going to start doing some "How To" posts that discuss the techniques or methods for producing those ingredients at home. Usually those ingredients are far more delicious when you make them yourself, far more economical, and are often quite easy to make. So for my first "How To" post, I'm going to share with you how to make roasted garlic at home. Its super easy and you can do it while you're watching your favorite show on TV!Slice the top 1/4 inch off a whole head of garlic, making sure the tops of all of the cloves on the head have been cut off so the garlic inside is exposed. This will make sure all of the cloves on the head roast evenly and carmelize nicely. Then cut out a square of aluminum foil that is large enough to wrap up the entire head of garlic in. Fold up the sides to envelop the head of garlic, leaving the top of the head exposed. Drizzle with a little extra-virgin olive oil and season with a tiny bit of kosher salt if desired. Then wrap the foil up over the whole head, closing up the package, but not sealing it tightly.
Roast the garlic in a 350F oven for approximately 50 minutes until your house smells delicious and the garlic has turned a lovely golden colour. Open up the garlic foil package to let the garlic cool until it is cool enough to handle and then squeeze out all the roasted garlic goodness for whatever you decide to use it for.
Now, you may notice that I have a whole tray full of roasted garlic... what am I going to do with all of it? Well, I'll tell you. I roast garlic in huge batches and then squeeze out two heads into freezer bags. Then I freeze the roasted garlic and use it whenever I feel like it. You can freeze roasted garlic for up to 6 months and it will still taste delicious. Or if you don't want to freeze it, it stays good in the fridge for about one week.
Happy Cooking my Friends!
Delish, I can smell it roasting. I do a lazy version of this. I buy a huge container of the already peeled cloves and then do basically the same thing, wrap a large amount in foil,roast, divide and then freeze in portions. The other day I caramelized 20 pounds of onions and froze in 1/4 portions. Makes cooking so much quicker down the line.
ReplyDeleteLisa~~
Cook Lisa Cook
Thats not lazy, its smart!!! I didn't know carmelized onions also froze well. Thanks for the tip! You can guarantee I'll be doing that while I roast my garlic next time. :)
ReplyDeleteI love the how to section you are adding to your blog. i must add that when we make things like this at home, it is far more delicious, far more economical, and also you know what's in it, no preservatives, no chemicals, no MSG. Fantastic job! I love garlic and will certainly give this one a try. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks Renata! I'm excited about the How To section on my blog too. Coming up will be roasted peppers and carmelized onions. And then who knows!!!
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