Roasted Garlic

Ingredients

• One or more whole heads of garlic
• Extra virgin olive oil

Directions

1. Heat your oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). A toaster oven is a good fit here, too. Pull away and discard the loose, papery layers from the outside of the whole garlic bulb, but leave the skins around the individual cloves in place. With a sharp knife, slice 1/4 to a 1/2 inch off the top of the cloves so the garlic inside is exposed.
2. Set the garlic heads cut side up in a baking pan or muffin tin. A muffin pan is especially handy because it helps keep the bulbs from tipping and wandering around.
3. Spoon a couple teaspoons of olive oil over each cut head of garlic, then use your fingers to spread the oil across the exposed cloves. Wrap or cover the bulb with aluminum foil.
4. Roast at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 30-40 minutes, until the cloves have taken on a little color and feel tender when you press them.
5. Let the garlic cool until it is safe to handle. With a small knife, nick the skin around each clove, then use a cocktail fork or your fingers to ease the roasted cloves out of their skins.
6. Eat the cloves as they are, or mash them with a fork and use them in cooking. They can be spread on warm French bread, stirred into sour cream for baked potatoes, or tossed with Parmesan and pasta.