12288 Roasted Garlic serves 1 Wed Aug 06 00:59:56 -0700 2008 Mon Feb 02 00:25:42 -0800 2009 Licensed http://www.chow.com/recipes/12288 Mon, 02 Feb 2009 08:25:42 GMT The concept of an entire head of garlic roasted in embers will appeal to all garlic lovers. In France, the round white garlic of the Limousin and the flatter, white variety from Lomague in Armagnac are roasted when the heads weigh about four ounces. They are served as a sweet and creamy “vegetable” accompaniment to grilled meats and stews. Restaurateur Huguette Melier roasts them in embers to accompany meat and hearth-roasted potatoes. I've eaten them with fresh whipped goat cheese and have found them delicious with any kind of peppered cheese and toasted bread.

The best time to make this dish is late spring when plump young tender white garlic bulbs become available. Avoid using elephant garlic, which does not taste very good when cooked; also avoid garlic heads that are dried out.

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  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. To prepare the garlic for roasting, carefully cut away the outside paper skins of each head with a small knife, starting from the top and stopping halfway down, leaving just a thin skin around the upper portion of each clove so that it will not dry out during roasting.
  • Place the garlic heads in a buttered shallow baking dish just large enough to hold them snugly in a single layer. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and chips of butter; place in the oven to roast. When the heads are lightly colored, after about 20 minutes, add ½ cup hot water. Continue to roast the garlic for a total of 1 to 1½ hours, depending upon the size of the heads, basting with the cooking juices in the pan every 10 minutes and adding more hot water whenever necessary.
  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the heads of garlic in a saucepan filled with enough cold water to cover. Bring to a boil; drain and rinse under cold running water. Return to the saucepan with fresh cold water to cover and repeat; drain. Using a sharp paring knife, peel the skins back from top to bottom, leaving a single layer of papery skin on each clove as protection against the oven heat.
  • Scatter the ham on the bottom of a lightly buttered shallow baking pan just large enough to hold the garlic heads snugly. Arrange the garlic heads, root side down, in a single layer on top of the ham. Dot with the butter and season lightly with a pinch each of coarse salt, pepper, thyme, and sugar. Sprinkle the parsley on top.
  • Set in the oven and roast for 15 minutes. Add ½ cup hot water and continue to roast the garlic for a total of 1 to 1½ hours, depending upon the size of the heads, basting with the cooking juices in the pan every 10 minutes and adding more hot water whenever necessary. Serve with the bits of ham and the pan juices.
    • ]]>     http://www.chow.com Paula Wolfert 50 Main 1 whole head of garlic

    ]]>     Coarse kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

    ]]>     1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces

    ]]>     1 whole head of garlic

    ]]>     1½ ounces fatty prosciutto ham, finely chopped

    ]]>     1 teaspoon butter, cut into bits

    ]]>     Coarse salt

    ]]>     Freshly ground pepper

    ]]>     Dried thyme

    ]]>     Sugar

    ]]>     2 teaspoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

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