Whole heads of garlic, baked in a terra cotta cooker, become sweet and nutty-tasting.
If your farmer’s market is like ours, right now there are tempting baskets brimming with whole heads of fresh garlic. Just last week I came away with bulbs of Music, an easy to peel porcelain hard neck, and heads of purple striped Guatemalan, one of the best varieties for roasting. As much as I love garlic raw in salsas, salads and marinades, I adore the mellow, caramel flavor of garlic baked in the oven.
When you bake or roast garlic, a near miraculous transformation occurs. The sulphuric compounds that give raw allium its pungency are muted, lulled to sleep, as it were, by the vapors of slow, steady heat. The hard cloves become soft and squishy, and the natural sugars are coaxed out of hiding. After an hour or so, the garlic can be squeezed right out of its papery husk, and its flavor is sweet and nutty, only faintly reminiscent of the raw clove’s searing bite.
One of the best ways to roast garlic is in a domed terra cotta cooker, such as the large Garlic Baker made by Fox Run Craftsmen. The glazed base is 7 inches in diameter, which means that you can roast five or more bulbs of garlic at a time. The lid has a garlic bulb as a handle and a tiny hole for steam. To prepare the garlic, I rub off some of its outer leaves, slice about one-quarter inch off the tops and drizzle with a little olive oil. Sometimes I sprinkle the cloves with salt and pepper and add a sprig of thyme or rosemary from the garden.
Roasted garlic is so luscious that you will probably find yourself standing up in the kitchen, squeezing one nutty-tasting clove after another into your mouth. (This is a good reason to bake four or five heads at once.) It is delicious served as an accompaniment to grilled meats and vegetables or on roughly torn pieces of warm baguette that have been dipped into olive oil. Or whisk a couple of tablespoons into a vinaigrette for salads. The same vinaigrette can be spooned over grilled salmon or mixed with lentils.
The Fox Run Garlic Baker (or similar terra cotta cookers) can be found at kitchenware stores. On the web, order it from www.cookscorner.com for $7.99. (Enter “garlic baker” in the search box.)
Recipe: Whole Roasted Garlic
Ingredients:
4 to 5 whole garlic bulbs
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh or dried thyme or rosemary
A terra cotta garlic baker (or small glass baking dish and aluminum foil to cover)
Method:
1. Using your thumbs, gently rub off several layers of the papery outer leaves covering each head of garlic. Slice about 1/4-inch off the top of each head, and prick the tops of the cloves with the tines of a fork.
2. Place the heads of garlic on the base of the terra cotta baker (or in the baking dish) and drizzle the tops with a little olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and with fresh or dried herbs, if desired. Cover with the lid of the baker. (If using a baking dish, cover tightly with aluminum foil.)
3. If using a terracotta baker, follow the manufacturer’s instructions: Place the covered baker in a cold oven. Turn the oven temperature to 300 degrees. Bake for one hour or until the cloves have softened. Remove the top, and bake for 20 minutes more, or until the heads of garlic are very slightly browned.
(If using a baking dish, bake at 300 degrees for one hour, or until the garlic has softened. Remove the aluminum foil and continue baking until the garlic has browned slightly.)
4. Serve each person one head of roasted garlic while it is still warm: Squeeze the garlic onto grilled meats or vegetables, or onto chunks of torn baguette dipped in olive oil.
5. If making a vinaigrette, squeeze the cloves out of their papery husks while still warm and mash to a paste in a mortar and pestle. Set aside until ready to use.