Garlic Confit

(or, Roasted Garlic in Olive Oil)

This is a standard pantry item I make constantly and use infinitely. There’s always a jar of it in my refrigerator. Try it, and make up your own uses! I’m posting it because I’ve referred to it in the past, but also because my fridge has a new addition: bricks of Plugra butter. I’m planning to make a number of compound butters this weekend, an entry about which will be forthcoming. Many of the butters start here:

Three heads of garlic, unpeeled and in tact
½ cup good olive oil

Next time you have the oven on, take the garlic (the full bulbs), turn each on its side, cut just the tips off, and place them in a ceramic, oven-proof bowl. A small cereal or soup bowl is suitable.

Drizzle the olive oil over each head to fully coat the exposed cloves and to make a pool of oil in the bowl. Cover with foil.

Roast for 40 minutes. Remove foil carefully to check. The cloves should be golden and shrunken away from their paper. If not, return to the oven for another 10 minutes.

Let cool. Drain oil into a jar, then squeeze cloves out into the jar. Sprinkle with sea salt and shake to combine. Refrigerate.

Uses:
Spread whole garlic cloves and oil onto toasted Italian bread.

Combine whole cloves, smashed cloves, the garlic oil and a pat of butter in a shallow dish. Add a sprig of fresh rosemary or other desired herb, plus sea salt and pepper. Warm to melt the butter and stir for a sweet and savory dipping oil.

Combine smashed cloves, the oil and butter in equal parts, together with a few anchovies in a small pan. Sprinkle with fresh ground pepper. Warm very slowly and break up anchovies fully. Serve warm in a shallow bowl with lightly toasted bread and crudité vegetables for dipping. Garnish with non-pariel capers, if desired. This is my variation of a bagna cauda.

Use just the olive oil for salad dressings or sautés. If you like this, roast the garlic with up to a cup of olive oil.

Put the roasted cloves in a shallow bowl, add butter (if desired), salt, pepper, fresh or dried herbs, and combine with a fork until smooth. Spoon mixture under the skin of chicken pieces and bake/roast chicken to desired doneness.

Combine whole roasted cloves, the garlic olive oil and chick peas or white beans in a food processor w/salt, pepper, lemon and vegetable oil (as needed) for a smooth hummus with sweet garlic flavor rather than the bite of fresh garlic.