How to Roast Garlic

I'm sure I'm not alone when I say this, but I'm a garlic fan. As far as I'm concerned, when in doubt, just add garlic. It's the cure all for nearly any cooking debacle. Bonus points if it's roasted!

In fact, pretty much any food combination that involves some type of carbs, tomatoes and garlic is a winner in my book. A winner to be followed closely behind by breath mints.

However I will admit, I'm pretty lazy about prepping garlic. I rely heavily on a big ol' jar of the minced persuasion from the store because frankly, cutting my own is too much to ask most of the time. However, making your own roasted garlic is simple, cheap, and relatively quick.  If you're like me, make several bulbs when motivation strikes. Stash them in the fridge with a little olive oil, and they'll keep for a while.

Roasted Garlic

Ingredients:

Garlic bulbs
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Need:

Aluminum foil

Muffin pan (optional)
• 
  
• To Do:

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Remove the excess outer layers of skin on the bulb(s).

Cut off the top 1/4" of the bulb, exposing the individual cloves.

Place the individual bulbs on a small piece of aluminum foil. Make a pocket with the foil around the bulb.

Drizzle each bulb with olive oil, and a few light shakes of salt and pepper.Close the foil pocket around the garlic bulb.

Place the pockets in the oven and bake for ~35 minutes. If you're roasting several bulbs and are worried they may tip over in the oven, place pockets in a muffin pan to keep them in place. Otherwise, just set them right on the oven rack.

The garlic is done when the cloves are tender. Once cool, peel away remaining skin to remove individual cloves. Use liberally.

As you can imagine, I have some posts coming up soon that will use these beauties. Stay tuned!

Roasted Cauliflower and Goat Cheese Soup

It's early December. Most of the leaves have fallen from the trees, the days are getting shorter, and the morning brings frost, but no snow to speak of yet. It's been a mild introduction to winter, but it's still a great time for a piping hot bowl of soup.

This recipe has been adapted from a gratin recipe by Bobby Flay. As per usual, I've taken some liberties, like roasting the cauliflower, switching up the cheeses a bit, and oh, making it a soup. I also added some dried garlic chives that I grew over the summer for a little color and flavor.

Roasted Cauliflower and Goat Cheese Soup
 4-6 servings

Ingredients
1 large head cauliflower, cut into florets
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. chili powder

3 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. flour
2 cups milk
1/2 pound sharp cheddar, shredded or cubed (reserve a small handful for garnish)
1 cup shredded parmesean
4 ounces goat cheese, cut into small pieces
Salt and pepper
1 cup garlic chives (reserve some for garnish)



Roasting the Cauliflower
Preheat oven to 425F.
Toss cauliflower with olive oil and chili powder. Place on a cookie sheet. I used an olive oil mister to lightly coat the cookie sheet, but I don't believe it was necessary. Some people use parchment paper as a liner - that's definitely an option if you prefer.

Place in oven for about 25 minutes, or until cauliflower begins to brown.


Preparing the Base
In a skillet, melt the butter. Slowly whisk in the flour, to form a paste. Continue to cook over medium heat for about 3-4 minutes, stirring continuously. Gradually add in milk.  
Switch to a wooden spoon for stirring. Reduce heat to low and add the cheeses and allow to melt.  Add salt and pepper to taste.


Assembling the soup
Place roughly 1/4 to 1/3 of cauliflower in a food processor. Process until you have a slightly chunky paste. I suppose the amount used here depends on how chunky you like your soup. I like my soup relatively chunky, so I blended a small amount of the roasted cauliflower. Feel free to add more to the food processor depending on your personal taste.

Place remainder of roasted cauliflower in a large mixing bowl.  Add green onions, cauliflower paste and cheese mixture. Blend well.  Pour into a baking dish and bake for 20 minutes in a preheated 425 degree oven or until the top is golden brown. Once removed from the oven, this soup will thicken up as it cools - wait as long as you can bear! Garnish with grated cheese and additional garlic chives. 

As you can see, despite my best efforts to give this a nice bubbly brown cheesy top, dishing the soup up kind of eradicated that. Regardless, this soup is still amazing on a cold day!