Roasted garlic is so delicious and can be used for a number of dishes. First and foremost it is wonderful by itself spread over crusty Italian bread or French bread. When the garlic is roasted it is very sweet, surprised? Garlic has long been known for its healing and antioxidant properties as well as a staple in kitchens around the world.

There are a few ways to roast garlic; you can even roast it in the microwave quickly in a clay or ceramic container. I prefer slow roasting in the oven or on the barbecue grill. You can even throw it over an outdoor fire when camping.

This is so simple to do, you’ll love it and your family and guests will too. I wanted to include this as I was surprised at how many people have never heard of roasted garlic here in the states unless your heritage has passed it down to you.

Take some whole garlic bulbs, as fresh as possible, old garlic will get too strong similar to an onion, so get as fresh as possible (garlic is also easy to grow and it is that time of year…yay!)

Remove any flaky peels from the outside of the bulb but leave the bulb intact. Slice the bottom flat (just enough to take the end off) and slice the top flat. You should just be able to see the top of the cloves inside.

Place each bulb on a separate piece of tin foil and drizzle with olive oil, wrap with foil, place in 400 degree oven or grill and roast until soft. When done the cloves will easily push out of the bulb and be very soft and spreadable. Just spread across your bread like you would butter. Yummy!

Pick your favorite salad greens, you can use iceberg lettuce but I suggest darker greens or endive, the bitter in the greens balances well with garlic and oils. I use extra virgin olive oils for most recipes that call for oil; I even use it in some baking as well, you probably noticed that from my honey, wheat oat bread we featured last week.

Tear greens apart, mescaline mix which is easily found in your produce area, comes usually washed and ready to go (do make sure your greens are always properly washed)
This is a great mix, tastes great and is really pretty on the plate. This is my favorite for this recipe.

Whisk in a bowl or use a shaker if you prefer, ½ cup extra virgin olive oil, ¼ cup red wine or apple cider vinegar, 2 mashed roasted garlic cloves (use a chef knife to flatten or mash between two spoons) Add freshly cracked pepper. That’s it! Pour over greens.

This is a meal in itself, believe it or not. Toss in your favorite veggies with the greens if you’d like. Serve greens on a dinner plate in a nice mound, drizzle garlic dressing over greens and serve with your crusty bread with roasted garlic to the side. The great thing about this meal is it is so full of flavor and textures so it satisfies hunger and taste buds well. It is very good for you and you can eat as much as you’d like and it won’t add a ton of useless calories to your diet.

Be Blessed and Enjoy!