Roasted garlic is one of those ingredients, which you have in almost every other dish. You can add it to already-made soups, sauces, dips, spreads, or veggie sides. You can have it with any cooked meat or fish dishes. By using roasted garlic, whether cooked in the oven or on the stovetop, you can easily amplify the taste of familiar dishes. Try adding it to mashed potatoes; you will never regret it.
Roasted garlic has a very pleasant specific taste. If you do not like the taste of raw garlic, then toasted garlic is your chance to enjoy this spicy plant. With roasted garlic, you get a great chance to spice up your dishes and add a tender aroma. In this post, I will share with you three roasted garlic recipes. In the first recipe, I will learn how to roast garlic in foil in the oven. Then you will get a recipe for stovetop roasted garlic. You will learn to make garlic-infused oil and roast garlic in the pan at the same time. And, finally, I will teach you how to roast garlic bulbs in the microwave.
How to roast a whole bulb of garlic in the oven
There is something special in roasted garlic. It is a perfect addition to any dish. I hope that I have already convinced you of that! It is even a practical way to store garlic. Hear me out! If you have some old head of garlic that you simply forgot in your cupboard, just roast them in the oven! You can store roasted garlic up for three months in the freezer. Besides, this recipe will give you some ideas on how to make it extra tasty. I have been roasting garlic forever, as using raw garlic in the recipes! I have learned that by adding several simple ingredients to make it mouthwatering:
Oven-Roasted Garlic in Olive Oil
Ingredients
- 1 bulb of garlic
- Olive oil
- Black pepper freshly ground
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- Salt, to your taste
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 400°F/200°C.
- Take a garlic head and get rid of all the loose layers around it. Make sure to leave the head itself intact so that the garlic won't come apart while roasting.
- To expose garlic cloves, you need to cut off the top of the bulb.
- Put a garlic head in the center of an aluminum foil sheet. Sprinkle salt (if necessary), freshly ground black pepper, and dried thyme over it. Here is when you can customize the aroma and taste of garlic to your demands. Choose any dried herbs and spices that you like. Only keep their amount around half of the teaspoon for 1 head.
- Drizzle several teaspoons of olive oil over it and wrap garlic carefully in foil.
- Roast garlic in the oven for 30-40 minutes on a rack in the middle of the oven.
- Before serving or adding to dishes, let roasted garlic cool down a bit.
There are a lot of factors that impact the roasting time of garlic: the size of the garlic bulb, how old it is, the heat of your oven, etc. The more practical way is to start checking the roasting garlic after the first thirty minutes in the oven. You should pierce the bulb in foil carefully with a knife. If it is still not soft, add extra 10 minutes. To get it caramelized, you should leave it in the oven for extra 10 minutes after it gets soft.
How to roast garlic on the stovetop
I love this recipe so much that you can kill two birds with one stone. First, you get the easiest recipe for Garlic Infused Oil, and then you get delicious roasted garlic out of it, too. You get a perfect topping for homemade focaccia, popcorn, or any roasted vegetables in the form of garlic-infused oil. If you add it to any salad instead of plain vegetable oil, you will get only benefits. As for the number of ways to use roasted garlic slices, it is unlimited:
Roasted Garlic with Garlic Infused Oil Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 fresh garlic bulbs
- 50 ml vegetable oil
- 1 sprig of fresh rosemary or thyme (optional)
Instructions
- Separate garlic cloves from the bulbs, peel them, and slice garlic across the clove. Rinse under running water a fresh herb of your choice. Dry it gently with paper towels. If the stem of the rosemary is too thick, get rid of it and use only the green leaves.
- Gather all the ingredients and combine them in a saucepan. Make sure that the pan heats up evenly.
- Leave the pan with oil, garlic, and herbs for 15 minutes. I find the oil becomes more aromatic if you do not skip this step.
- Place the pan on the stove on low heat. Cook garlic for 5 to 10 minutes by constantly stirring garlic slices with a wooden spatula. Overcooking garlic is a big mistake! Cook garlic until it becomes slightly golden; do not wait until it becomes to burn as it will make all the mixture bitter.
- Set the pan with hot oil aside and pick out all the garlic slices. You can put them on a plate or paper towels. When you leave the garlic in how oil, it still keeps roasting in it. So, we need to make sure to stop the process of cooking.
- When you see that the oil has cooled down. Combine it with roasted garlic in an air-tight glass jar. It does not need to be sterilized. Store in the fridge or at room temperature for up to 3 weeks.
Notes
You can use any oil you like for the recipe. If you have extra olive oil to spare, then use only olive oil to roast garlic. However, I like to add half sunflower oil and half olive oil to the pan (25 ml + 25 ml for this recipe). Sunflower oil has a higher smoke point. Even if I make the mistake of heating oil too much, it is better to have sunflower oil there for higher temperatures.
How to roast garlic in microwave
Microwave-Roasted Garlic is one of those recipes that you forget about out until there is no time left to roast garlic using any other way. Moreover, the taste of the condiment is not even slightly worse than the others have. After microwaving garlic slices, you get a crunchy addition that can spice up any salad, burger, or side dish. It has a perfect aromatic flavor that can whet anybody’s appetite:
Microwave-Roasted Garlic Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 garlic bulb
- vegetable oil
Instructions
- Peel garlic cloves and cut them into paper-thin slices.
- Take a flat microwave-safe plate and smear it with vegetable oil.
- Transfer sliced garlic to the plate. Make sure not to overcrowd it. You can always make roasted garlic in batches.
- Roast garlic in the microwave at maximum power for 1-2 minutes.
- Take the plate out of the microwave. Stir roasted garlic on the plate thoroughly.
- Put the plate back in the microwave and roast it once again for 1-2 minutes or until the desired taste or color.
- Transfer microwave-roasted garlic to an air-tight glass jar and store garlic in a dry, dark place at room temperature. You can add garlic as a seasoning to any sour dish that you are cooking.
Notes
Hope that the article was helpful. Roasted garlic is one of my favorite condiments to use. I am so glad that I have a chance to share with you information on how to make roasted garlic in the microwave, in the oven, and on the stovetop. The recipes are easy to follow. You only need to try them! I will be waiting for your feedback. Please, do not forget to share this post with your friends if you liked it, of course.
