Roasting Garlic

Remove the outer papery skin from a whole head of garlic and cut off the top ¼ inch or so to expose the tops of the cloves. Set the garlic in a piece of aluminum foil and drizzle about 2 teaspoons of olive oil over. If you have fresh thyme on hand, add a few sprigs of that as well. Wrap the foil around the garlic to fully enclose it. Bake in a 375°F oven until the garlic is tender when squeezed, 30 to 40 minutes. Set aside to cool, then squeeze each garlic clove from the bottom to release it from the skin. For a purée simply mash the garlic with a fork. Extra garlic can be wrapped and refrigerated for 4 to 5 days. It will be delicious in pasta, mashed with butter for toasted garlic bread, or added to a vinaigrette for delicate garlicky flavor. In fact, you might want to roast two heads of garlic at once, to have plenty to enjoy for a few other meals.