Roasted Garlic

This is a good time of year to get local garlic. And so many fall and winter dishes benefit from the addition of roasted garlic. I like to do at least a few heads at once and then keep it around for a bit, since it always seems like too much time and too much waste to roast a single head at a time. I have not tried freezing roasted garlic yet, but I bet it would work quite well. I think you would want to either puree it or else freeze individual cloves on a tray before putting them into a bag.

A few things I like to do with roasted garlic: mash or puree and add to mashed potatoes or roasted winter squash (a nice option for the Thanksgiving table), put whole or halved cloves on pizza, puree or mash and use as a spread.

Preheat the oven to 325°.

Cut the top third off each head to expose the cloves. Place the heads in a baking dish and add water so that it comes about a third of the way up the heads. Drizzle olive oil over the top of the heads.

Cover with foil and bake about an hour, until the garlic is soft and tender.

To remove cloves from their skin, allow the heads to cool until they can be handled comfortably, then separate the cloves from the head and squeeze each one out with your hands. Warning: this is a messy process.

If not using the garlic immediately, it will keep in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for a few days.