Raw garlic is not my favorite thing, and I didn’t want to have to saute some special for the mashed potatoes so I decided to roast off a few heads. Roasting garlic mellows the flavor, so you will be able to use more of it in your dish. It is also much easier to puree when roasted.
I like to soak my heads in water for a spell, couple hours will do – overnight is better. By slicing of the tips of each clove and allowing them to absorb water, you will be less likely to dry-out the garlic-y goodness and it will plump-up the final product.
You can drizzle some olive-oil over them, I used butter because I’m running low on EVOO, and I did this on Thanksgiving, so there was butter all over the kitchen already. I sprinkled a dash of Trapani sea salt on-top the butter-pat and wrapped them individually in aluminum squares. There is something so satisfying about small, individual foods-stuffs. Makes me want to make dumplings.
I don’t watch the clock on these guys, I go by the smell. It will start smelling raw-garlic-y in maybe 20 minutes and then change to roasted garlic – which will pervade your house like a poltergeist, swelling the size of the container and saturating your permeables with it’s magical and otherworldly scent.