Roasted Garlic Spread


heads of garlic
photo by carmen troesser

This mild, creamy spread is delicious on crostini as an appetizer, dolloped on steak or a baked potato, or smeared on a hamburger or hoagie.


Ingredients

4 heads of garlic 
4 tsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. butter, room temperature
¼ tsp. fleur de sel
Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp. lemon juice



Preparation

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 

• Peel the garlic, leaving just enough skin to hold the cloves together. Cut ¼ inch off the top of each head to expose the cloves. 

• Place the heads of garlic, cut side up, in a medium baking dish. Brush the olive oil onto the garlic, pushing the oil between the cloves. Cover the dish tightly with foil. Bake until the center cloves are soft and the outer cloves begin to caramelize, about 1 hour. 

• Remove the foil and let the garlic rest until cool enough to handle. Use a sharp knife to extract the cloves from the head then use your fingers to press the roasted garlic paste from each clove into a small bowl. Add the butter, fleur de sel, pepper and lemon juice. Use a fork to combine the ingredients. Adjust seasonings to taste. The paste will keep for a week in an airtight, refrigerated container.



Tags : Garlic