Dry Roasting Garlic

Garlic is one of those kitchen essentials.  While cooking with raw garlic is wonderful, roasting will mellow and sweeten the flavor.  There are many ways to roast garlic in the oven; however, I prefer to roast it on the stove top in a cast iron pan.  I learned this technique by watching Rick Bayless on his PBS show, Mexico, One Plate at a Time.

If you are cooking another dish that calls for garlic, like soup or a sauce, make this one of your first steps.  That way the garlic can roast while finishing preparation for the rest of the meal.

Remove the individual cloves from the head of garlic.  Leave them in their papery skin.  I prefer to roast garlic in a dry, cast iron skillet.  A stainless steel pan will work.  Avoid any pans that should not be heated dry.  Turn the heat on medium.  Once the pan is hot, turn it down to low, then add the cloves of garlic.  It will take about 20-30 minutes to cook them.  As the garlic begins to roast, the papery skin will brown and blacken.  If the cloves are large, try to make sure that each side is slightly blackened.  The cloves will soften as they cook (another way to tell if they are ready).  The key here is low, slow heat.  This will ensure that the whole clove is roasted.  Remove the individual cloves once they have been slightly blackened on each side.

Allow the garlic to cool, then remove the roasted garlic from the papery skin.  You may need to trim the root end of the clove.  Use roasted garlic to flavor your favorite pasta sauce, soup, or in any dish that calls for raw garlic.  Enjoy!