• Preheat the oven to 425°.

  Position middle rack in place.

  Prepare a small sheet pan or baking dish and line with a sheet of parchment paper or tin foil.
• Unwrap as much of the excess flaky papery skin from the garlic head as possible.

  On a cutting board. Using a sharp knife cut the top 1/4-inch from the top of the cloves so the individual cloves of garlic are exposed.

  Then place the head of garlic, cut-side-up, on top of foil.
• Drizzle the raw garlic with olive oil and season with salt and fresh ground black pepper.
• Pull the sides of the foil or parchment paper up and around the garlic so that you create a little parcel / pouch. If using parchment, secure with kitchen twine and trim excess paper from the tops of the packets.

  Place the pouch on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the cloves inside the parcels are light brown and soft. Check on the garlic every so often starting at the 35 minute mark. 
• Remove from the oven, unwrap, and let cool for 10 minutes until cool to touch.

  To extract roasted garlic cloves, squeeze from the bottom of the cloves up and out (this process can be a bit messy due to the oil. You can use disposable gloves).

  The soft clove should come right out.
• Use immediately in sauces, dressings, as a spread, and more!

Roasted Garlic Cloves

• When roasting individual cloves, I use a similar method as roasting whole garlic heads:
• Separate the garlic cloves from the bulb.
• Wrap in foil and place them on a baking sheet. Drizzle them with a little oil
• Roast at 400 degrees F.  for 15-25 minutes, until tender. 
• This will take less time than roasting the whole garlic head. I recommend checking for doneness at the 15-minute mark. Return to the oven if needed, and check every few minutes until soft. 
• To Store: Once roasted and cool to the touch, I recommend removing the cloves from the bulb and storing them tightly wrapped and sealed or in an airtight container otherwise, they will become dry). Store for 3-5 days.
• To Freeze:

  You can freeze the roasted cloves as larger pieces or mash the roasted garlic first. Then transfer to a freezer-safe plastic zip bag or airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. 

  When freezing the mashed garlic, spread it in a thin layer in either teaspoon or tablespoon portions on a sheet of plastic wrap in several sections. I normally place 6 dollops of garlic. Fold plastic wrap and place in zip bag and freeze flat. That way, you can simply snap off pieces as needed. Alternatively, freeze into a small ice-cube tray in teaspoon or tablespoon dollops (this is a great method as well).

  When ready to use, simply peel off a layer or remove a cube of garlic and allow it to come to room temperature. For the larger clove pieces, you can allow them 10-15 minutes at room temperature to thaw.