Preparation / Directions:
Pre-heat the oven to 375 f.
Rub the heads of garlic with olive oil so that they are well and evenly coated. Place the heads in a shallow ovenproof container like a gratin dish, add the rosemary if you're using it, then cover tightly --aluminum foil will be fine--and bake for 40-45 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven, uncover and when the garlic is cool enough to handle, cut the tops of the heads and squeeze the roasted garlic out into a glass container. Stir in two or three teaspoons of Extra Virgin olive oil, season with a little salt.
Serve as a spread with grilled or fried bread, or use it to flavor mashed potatoes, or roasted vegetables, or toss a couple of tablespoons with some pasta for a particularly refined pasta aglio ed olio.
This is one of those "little detail" kind of recipes that make you a legend in the kitchen. Trendy restaurants everywhere serve some form of Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes these days, but this makes a terrific condiment in its own right.
When you cook garlic in any way, it loses its pungency without sacrificing its flavor. And this is a particularly kind treatment for a head of garlic. The roasting process softens the garlic such that when cooked, it extrudes from its skin in a puree.
Spread a tablespoonful on bruschetta and you'll wonder how you managed without it. Roast a bunch of mixed Winter root vegetables, then toss them with a couple of tablespoons and you'll get raves at the dinner table. And by all means add a ton of roasted garlic to mashed potatoes. Finally, when Basil comes back to market in the Spring, substitute roasted garlic for raw to make a batch of truly remarkable
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