Personally, we eat very little bread, but when we do, it has to have Roasted Garlic Oil on the side to dip in. We love a gourmet approach to eating because it keeps us focused on the good food and not on what we shouldn’t eat or on desserts.
Roasted garlic oil and warm crusty bread are one of those yummy little side items that round out a lovely meal.
It is so simple.
- Sit a large bulb of garlic on its side and cut off the bottom of it, just enough so that all of the inner cloves are exposed.
- Wrap in tin foil with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil, a sprinkle of sea salt, and a pinch of black pepper (preferably fresh ground or cracked). You can add other spices now if you want them to soak in, like fresh basil leaves, some oregano, ground up rosemary, or red pepper flakes.
- Place in a ramekin or small baking dish and bake 35–40 minutes at 350. You can take it out and check it if you want by sticking the end of a sharp knife in it. It should come out with a paste-like texture.
- When finished, just pour the olive oil into a bowl and discard the tin foil. Lay the cloves on their side and one by one squeeze out the garlic by pressing down on the flat side of the knife on the clove.
- Use a fork to mash them into the oil and add 1/4 cup more olive oil, 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, 1/4 tsp parsley, 1/4 tsp oregano, rosemary, or basil if you have not already put them in the oven. All three are overkill, but you have to decide. I pressed the herbs between my fingers and then smelled the garlic oil mixture to see what flavors smelled good to me. Then I know what I feel like in my oil today.
This all takes 5 minutes, plus the time you use for other things as it cooks.
Warm up a nice, whole wheat, crusty baguette and enjoy it with one of our other recipes like Chicken Walnut Cranberry Salad.
Tip: Make the roasted garlic ahead of time and leave it in the tin foil in a container, in the fridge. Pull one out and heat it for 10 minutes and you are ready.
Tip: You can just press the garlic clove right on to the bread and save yourself some fat.
Tip: Add roasted garlic like this to any bread or cornbread recipe or dish. Leftovers are very recyclable.