in this instructable i will show you how easy it is to roast garlic and therefore release the milder and sweeter potential locked within it's potent cloves.

before we begin you will need:
-a head or a bunch of loose cloves of garlic
-olive oil (you can use another kind of oil, but i like olive. it's healthy, too!)
-aluminum foil
-an oven

if you have all of these things then click on the next step.
(you can still click if you don't, you just may not be able to complete this project)

Step 1: Get to Peelin'

first peel off the outer paper layers while keeping the cloves attached.

an alternate method involves removing the cloves from the root structure and peeling them. either way will work and i will describe both.

Step 2: Slicey Dicey

if you peeled your cloves skip this step. if not, break out a sharp knife and some common sense. be careful as this can be a bit tricky for one without a lot of knife skills. basically you want to stand the garlic on its side and slice the tips off the cloves. you can cut the middle cloves off with one stroke and then spin the clove with shallower cuts to take care of the outer cloves. the outer cloves are lower and as you can see in my picture, i took off quite a bit of the middle cloves trying to get it all in one slice. either way works fine. just gauge your patience, skill with a blade and output volume needs.

Step 3: Foil and Oil

break out the aluminum foil and the olive oil. lay out a sheet of foil and place the head of garlic or the loose cloves in the center. (you can go buy a garlic roasting terra cotta thing, but unless you have an excess of storage space and more money than you know what to do with, there is no need. also, with foil, there is nothing to wash. just wad it up and throw it in your recycling bin. save some water and shelf space, use foil.) drizzle enough olive oil to give a light coating over the tips of the cloves on the head, or the entire surface of the peeled and separated cloves. you don't need a ton. just a tablespoon or two.

Step 4: Fold Me Now

fold it all up tightly to keep all the yumminess inside the packet and not all over your oven. this also keeps the moisture inside so the garlic doesn't dry out or burn. i've experimented with different folding techniques with positive results from many. it really doesn't have to match mine, just be sealed reasonably well.

preheat your oven to 425 degrees and pop these bad boys in. spend the next half an hour enjoying the amazing aroma and then remove them carefully with appropriate hand protection. let the aluminum cool for as little time as the callouses on your fingertips will allow and unfold your pungent package.

Step 5: Success!

upon opening your foil package you should be rewarded with some seriously soft and sweet cloves of yummy roasted garlic. if you roasted the whole head you can know separate the cloves from the root structure and just squeeze the sticky garlic paste out of the peel for any number of delicious uses. if you used peeled cloves, they are pretty much ready to go. you can leave them whole or crush them into the aforementioned paste.

now, mix it in hummus or pesto. toss it with pasta. spread it on a toasted baguette. eat a whole clove. kiss your girlfriend. just make sure she's eating it with you (feel free to change the gender here to suit your particular situation).

enjoy!

-pdub