Kitchen hack: How to roast garlic

Roasted garlic — it’s one of the most amazing flavors in the kitchen. Add it to soups and stews, whisk it into a vinaigrette or tomato sauce, brush it onto grilled steaks, use it to lend extra flavor to your secret recipe for mashed potatoes. Or just use it on bread, like butter.

If you’ve never roasted garlic before, it’s incredibly simple.

Grab a whole head of garlic (or two, or three) next time you’re at the market. Cut the top of the pointy tip off the garlic (no peeling necessary), just enough to expose the tips of the cloves. Place the garlic on a small sheet of foil (just enough foil to wrap each head), with the cut end facing up. Drizzle a little olive oil over the cut end of the garlic head, and sprinkle a pinch each of salt and pepper.

Then wrap the garlic head in the foil. Put the garlic in the center of the oven — place the foil directly on the rack; you don’t need to put it on a baking sheet — and roast the garlic at 325 degrees for about an hour, until the cloves have softened and that wonderful aroma is almost too much to bear. That’s it.

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Remove the roasted garlic from the oven and set it aside (still in the foil) to cool slightly. Then you’re good to go.

If you don’t plan to use it right away (really??), then squeeze the garlic from the head through the cut end (it’s kind of like squeezing toothpaste). Wrap the roasted garlic pulp tightly and refrigerate for up to a week.

BROCCOLI AND ROASTED GARLIC SOUP

Total time: 1 hour, plus 45 minutes roasting time for the garlic | Serves 6 to 8

Note: Adapted from “Autumn Gatherings: Casual Food to Enjoy With Family and Friends” by Rick Rodgers.

1 large, plump head of garlic
Olive oil, for drizzling
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large bunch broccoli, about 1 3/4 pounds
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large baking potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
6 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1. Heat the oven to 325 degrees. To roast the garlic, cut off the top one-half inch of the garlic head to make a “lid.” Drizzle the cut surfaces with a little olive oil and season with a pinch each of salt and pepper. Replace the lid. Wrap the garlic in foil and place on a baking sheet. Roast until the garlic is tender and a rich golden color, about 1 hour. Unwrap and cool. The garlic can now be used for the soup, or wrapped in plastic and refrigerated until ready to use, up to 1 week.

2. Meanwhile, cut the florets from the broccoli stalks. Coarsely chop the florets, then peel and coarsely chop the stalks.

3. In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, then add the onion and cover with a lid. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chopped broccoli and potato.

4. Add the broth and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and partially cover the pot. Simmer until the potato is very tender, about 30 minutes. During the last 5 minutes, squeeze the roasted garlic into the pot, discarding the hulls. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

5. Puree the soup in batches using a blender, or in the pot using an immersion blender. Serve hot. This makes about 2 1/2 quarts soup.

Each of 8 servings: 132 calories; 5 grams protein; 18 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams fiber; 5 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 8 mg. cholesterol; 334 mg. sodium.

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