ROASTED GARLIC ON THE SIDEIn this time of lighter eating and lighter sauces, pureed vegetables and flavored oils often replace the butter and flour to dress up our plates and palates. Garlic, long-known to keep the doctor away, is at the top of the flavor list. Roasted whole with TERRIFIC TURKEY HERBS, or roasted and pureed, it is lean, subtle, and versatile. Try this:
Preheat oven to 300. Choose 6 heads of firm new garlic, and slice carefully acoss the top of each, removing the outer skin and exposing the top of each inner clove. Tuck them snugly into a baking dish. Sprinkle with one tablespoon TERRIFIC TURKEY HERBS, and pour over them 1/4 cup of good extra-virgin olive oil . Bake them covered for one hour, or more if they aren't yet squishy-soft.
They can be placed on a plate still whole, to be squeezed out by each diner as a sweet, earthy condiment to any meats or poultry. Or, puree the soft pulp with another dash of HERBS, and mix it into mashed potatoes, pureed carotts, beans and legumes. These mixtures can be used to thicken other sauces, or as sauces themselves. Mix it with softened butter for the best garlic bread ever. Add it to mayonnaise for a milder, richer aioli. The touch of curry in TERRIFIC TURKEY HERBS makes it a natural condiment for a curry supper. If you've never roasted garlic, you'll be amazed at its sweetness, quite unlike its assertive raw state!