Roasted Garlic Confit

• servings: 6 servings
• active time: 10 minutes
• total time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

2 heads of garlic, cloves peeled and root ends trimmed (see note)

Extra-virgin olive oil, as needed (see note)

Directions

You can also cook this in a low 300°F (150°C) oven, between 1-3 hours.

In a saucepan, cover garlic with enough oil to fully submerge it.

Set over medium heat and bring to a bare simmer. Lower heat to maintain the barest simmer, so that you see some tiny bubbles on the garlic, but it's not actively frying in the oil.

Cook, adjusting heat as necessary to maintain this minimal level of cooking activity, until the garlic is buttery soft and tan in color, 1 to 3 hours (raising the heat will move things faster but also shortchange you on the flavor development).

Transfer garlic confit and the cooking oil to a clean heatproof container, cover with plastic, and refrigerate immediately.

Refrigerated in its oil, the garlic confit can be kept for up to 1 week.

Notes

WHY IT WORKS

• Slowly cooking the garlic at less than a simmer gives it plenty of time to grow sweet and soft.

• Storing the garlic confit in the refrigerator, and only for a limited time, helps avoid any food-borne illness risks.

At temperatures under 38°F (3°C), the dangerous toxins form much more slowly, which buys you some time. Under no circumstances should you store the garlic confit at room temp.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: Makes as much as you wan
• Calories: 35 kcal
• Total Fat: 2 g
• Saturated Fat: 0 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 0 g
• Cholesterol: 0 mg
• Sodium: 2 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 3 g
• Dietary Fiber: 0 g
• Total Sugars: 0 g
• Protein: 1 g