Garlic responds wonderfully to slow-roasting in the oven, losing its ornery pungency to become a sweet and mellow creature. Here is an easy recipe from Deborah DeBord. 

—Mi Ae

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Roasted Garlic

When too many heads roll.

1. Cut ½ inch off the top of a rinsed head of garlic. (You can use 1 head or many.)
2. Drizzle extra-virgin olive oil into the cut and between the cloves.
3. Wrap the whole head in aluminum foil or parchment paper.
4. Set the head directly on the oven rack and bake it for 50 minutes at 400°F.
5. Take the head out of the oven and let it cool. Separate the cloves, and squeeze the creamy garlic from their skins.
6. Store the garlic in olive oil in the refrigerator. (Important: Make sure to keep this in the refrigerator, NOT sitting out in a jar at room temperature—storing garlic either raw or cooked in oil unrefrigerated increases the risk of botulism poisoning, which can be fatal.) Roasted garlic in oil can be safely stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, or up to 4 months when frozen.

—Deborah DeBord, Ph.D.
Picked at the Peak

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The only problem with roasting garlic is that having its heartbreaking aromas saturating your home makes you just want more. So here is a recipe that has more—Chicken with 40 Cloves of them in fact. (Don’t worry about the massive amount—baking the garlic in the oven along with the bird softens and mellows it to a piquant, sumptuous sweetness, with none of the harsh pungency of the raw bulb. We promise!)