A lot of my culinary schemes rely on recipes that can be prepared for my freezer that will make life much more simple down the road.
Take roasted garlic, which, in my world is a most wonderful ingredient to have around.
You see, when baked at a moderate temperature for a minimal amount of time, garlic becomes relatively tame — from a dragon-breath perspective — and actually achieves a mild, almost buttery texture and flavor.
But until a short while ago not many home cooks knew just how wonderful these rich and golden morsels were, either as an offering all unto itself when placed in the vicinity of French bread and butter, or as a savory ingredient in dishes ranging from mashed potatoes to stir-frys and vegetable sautes.
Well, like many cooks who have fallen head over heals in love with the process, I’ve worked out some variations on the roasted garlic theme.
All of these variations, however, can really be broken into three categories: roasting whole heads, roasting halved heads or roasting individual cloves.
I’m not sure which treatment I prefer — they produce considerably different results, gastronomically speaking.
When the head is roasted intact, the cloves have the most mild and tender disposition. Likewise, if you halve the head by cutting it at its plumpest circumference, plop the cut sides down onto a puddle of olive oil and roast until a firm nudge on your part confirms that the cloves are thoroughly tender, the result will still be a fairly sweet-natured product.
But my main focus today is on that third approach: roasting individual peeled cloves of garlic, which is an entirely different animal.
Since each individual clove is exposed to the oven environment and responds by producing a golden, crusty glow, the end result is a richer, more intense eating and cooking experience.
It began with a 3 pound bag of Christopher Ranch peeled garlic cloves. This Gilroy, California-based grower is the nation’s largest fresh garlic producer, and I am a fan of its consistently good quality garlic offerings — especially those over-sized-your-eyes-are-bigger-than-your-stomach bags of fresh, peeled garlic cloves.
They are extremely convenient to have around. At least in my garlic-loving world.
I’m usually able to work my way through the cloves in a reasonable amount of time. But this week, the “use by” date was looming, and I had barely made a dent.
Not wanting to waste a single clove, I decided that roasting and freezing the whole batch was the perfect solution.
Once roasted, I broke out two cups worth to concoct a zesty puree that freezes very well indeed and is the basis for many of my favorite recipes, including salad dressings, mashed potatoes, party spreads and pasta sauces.
Since we are heading into the holiday cooking season, having this puree on hand will be greatly appreciated.
The rest were tumbled into a freezer bag that I sealed and laid flat on a baking sheet in the freezer so the cloves would succumb to the frosty temperature without clinging to one another. Once each clove was individually frozen, the bag could be stored upright.
Mission accomplished.
Having saved the entire batch from ruin, I was feeling pretty smug, knowing that in the weeks and months to come, my freezer would provide a multitude of options for my roasted-garlic approach to cooking.
Still not convinced that a cache of roasted garlic cloves and puree won’t come in handy in the weeks and months to come? Read on.
How to use your frozen cache of roasted garlic cloves and roasted garlic puree:
• Make a quick and simple garlic bread. Toast slices of your favorite artisan bread, then spread with a puree of roasted garlic cloves and softened butter. Spread on the toast, then broil until bubbly and golden brown. Alternate idea: To that garlic and butter puree, stir in some shredded cheese or a dollop of mayonnaise (yes, mayonnaise) and a splash of Worcestershire sauce.
• Turn regular mayonnaise into roasted garlic aioli by blending a cup of mayonnaise with a dozen cloves of roasted garlic (or a couple tablespoons of roasted garlic puree). Use as a sandwich spread, a dip for artichokes or as a garnish on vegetables.
• Turn basic mashed potatoes into roasted garlic mashed potatoes. Either leave the cloves whole, slice into slivers, or make a puree with the cloves and stir into the potatoes as you are mashing. Either way, it’s delicious.
• Add depth to homemade pizza by sprinkling the top with a handful of slivered roasted garlic cloves.
• Toss roasted garlic cloves into a Caesar salad for an extra level of rich flavor that complements the fresh garlic in your dressing.
• Smash some roasted garlic cloves into a saucer of good-quality olive oil and serve as an appetizer for dipping with a crusty artisan bread.
• Place a handful of roasted garlic cloves in your next stew.
• Combine some roasted garlic puree or cloves in your hamburgers or a meatloaf before cooking.
• Toss some roasted garlic cloves with a vegetable saute.
• Add some roasted garlic cloves to the pan juices of a juicy steak before serving (with a splash of red wine to dissolve all the cooked-on bits of food).
• Mix the roasted garlic puree into your favorite humus.
• Or try mixing roasted garlic cloves into guacamole.
• Make a delicious flatbread by drizzling the bread with olive oil, then smearing on roasted garlic cloves or roasted garlic puree and topping with Gorgonzola cheese before heating in a 400 degree oven until soft and bubbly.
Roasted garlic cloves
3 pound bag (about 1 quart) peeled garlic cloves
About 3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Place the garlic cloves in a bowl. Add the olive oil and toss to evenly coat all of the cloves.
Spread the cloves on a large rimmed baking sheet. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Roast in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until the cloves are soft and tender, stirring with a spatula at several intervals throughout the process. Some cloves will get very dark, and that’s OK. Remove from oven and let cool.
Cloves can be stored in the refrigerator for several days, or placed in freezer bags and frozen for up to several months (six months or longer).
When freezing, it’s ideal to arrange the bags of cloves on a baking sheet so they can freeze in a single layer. Otherwise, the cloves stick together and cannot be removed individually as needed.
Makes about 1 quart of roasted garlic cloves.
Roasted garlic puree — two ways
This is an amazing mixture to have on hand for a wide range of culinary twists. It stands alone as a garlicky spread on crostini or an additive for anything from cheese bread and mashed potatoes to pasta and risotto.
1 cup roasted garlic cloves (see basic recipe above)
1⁄3 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon tempura sauce (I use Kikkoman brand, available locally at Safeway and FredMeyer, or subtitute soy sauce)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
The zesty approach: Place the garlic cloves, olive oil, tempura sauce (or soy sauce), Worcestershire sauce and Dijon mustard in a blender or food processor and process until desired consistency is reached (from slightly chunky to relatively smooth).
Scrape the contents into a small container, cover tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to one week. Alternately, place in freezer bag, press to a thin patty-sized thickness, seal and freeze for up to several months; break off desired amount as needed.
Basic approach: For a simple, less zesty approach, simply puree the garlic cloves with the olive oil in a blender or food processor. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Makes about 1 cup.
Roasted garlic vinaigrette
2 tablespoons roasted garlic puree (zesty approach, see recipe above)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Whisk together the garlic puree, balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard and salt. Whisk in the olive oil.
Makes about 11⁄8 cups vinaigrette
Jan Roberts-Dominguez is a Corvallis food writer, artist and author of “Oregon Hazelnut Country, the Food, the Drink, the Spirit,” and four other cookbooks. Readers can contact her by email at janrd@proaxis.com, or obtain additional recipes and food tips on her blog atwww.janrd.com.
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