ROAST GARLIC PUREE
Instructions:
6 large heads garlic (about 1 pound [450 g])
makes 1 cup [250 ml]
- Roast garlic purée can be whisked into the cooking liquid from a fricassee, into a pan-deglazed sauce, or into the juices from a roasting pan to lightly thicken the mixture and give it a rich flavor. You can also spread garlic purée on toast (it makes the ultimate garlic bread) or thin it with broth or cream to turn it into a velvety sauce for grilled or sautéed meats and seafood. Garlic purée keeps for several weeks, in a small jar in the refrigerator, covered with a 6-inch layer of extra-virgin olive oil.
- B R E A K up the heads of garlic into cloves (there’s no need to peel them), sprinkle them with water to keep them from getting too brown, and wrap them in aluminum foil. Bake in a 400°F [200°C/gas mark 6] oven for about 45 minutes, or until the cloves feel very soft when you pinch them through the foil.
- Purée the cloves in a food processor for about 15 seconds and then work them through a strainer with the bottom of a ladle, through a drum sieve (see page 15), or through a food mill with the finest-mesh grid.
- If you’re using a food mill, make a complete counterclockwise turn every once in a while to scrape up the garlic skins that are clogging the holes