After making roast garlic puree for a client I thought why don’t I deserve a little garlic love at home? Usually I roast whole heads the traditional way. First you lop off the tops, situate them in a little aluminum foil chair then drizzle oil over the exposed cloves and place the garlic recliner in a 350 degree oven until the cloves are soft and yielding. This time I tried another way. I happened to have a couple of pounds of peeled cloves left over that were super fresh so I made a hobo pack for them from foil,
Before tucking them in for their sauna I drizzled garlic and salt over them, then tucked a few sprigs of fresh thyme in the package.
I crimped the edges of the aluminum to enclose the garlic in the pack. Then the upscale hobo pack was tucked into a 375 degree oven. After about a half hour the smell started wafting through the neighborhood. Sausages came running to jump into the oven with the garlic. Neighbors started calling asking when diinner would be served. Seriously, the aroma is pervasive (but in a good way). Once the garlic started to soften I checked every 15 minutes until
some cloves were deep golden brown. Then I simply mashed the little suckers with a fork, right in the aluminum pack
I’m curious to know. What would you do with the resulting magic puree?
- Place garlic cloves onto sheet of foil large enough to encase them.
- Add sprig of thyme. Drizzle with olive oil and salt to taste.
- Fold aluminum foil over dressed garlic cloves to create a hobo pack that will keep any juices inside. Bake at 375 degrees until you smell the garlic, approximately 30 minutes. Check the garlic and keep cooking until the cloves are golden with a few dark brown spots, approximately another 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven and carefully open the foil. Pour cooked cloves along with any juices into a small bowl and roughly puree with a fork.
it is fantastic spread on a pizza base, sprikled with chopped rosemary,covered with coarsely grated parmesan, salt and pepper-drizzle with evoo–some dressed rocket added when cooked–it is the pizza della casa in this house