MAKES: 4 bulbs (½ bulb per serving) · PREP TIME: 5 minutes · COOK TIME: 45 minutes

Before I started writing cookbooks and food blogging, I worked in the restaurant industry for 15 years. A lot of those years were spent working in Italian restaurants. One of the restaurants I worked in served its house breads with whole roasted garlic. The garlic was roasted in giant batches in the wood-fired pizza oven, and the aroma permeated every inch of the restaurant. By the end of a shift, it permeated every inch of me also. But I never minded, because it was out-of-this-world delicious. I think this is where my love affair with garlic truly began. Not only is this roasted garlic amazing in Roasted Garlic Mayo, but it is also delicious served with Dinner Rolls , olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.

INGREDIENTS

•4 large bulbs garlic

•¼ cup avocado oil or olive oil

•1 teaspoon sea salt

•¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

•4 sprigs fresh thyme

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2. Cut the top ¼ inch off of each bulb of garlic, exposing the cloves.

3. Put each bulb of garlic on a sheet of aluminum foil that is large enough to wrap the entire bulb.

4. Drizzle the bulbs of garlic with the oil, then sprinkle them with the salt and pepper. Top each bulb with a sprig of thyme.

5. Wrap each bulb tightly in the foil. Put the foil packets on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes, or until the garlic is fragrant and the cloves are tender and caramelized.

tip: If you do not want to roast the garlic in foil, you can roast the bulbs in a small covered baking dish.

PER SERVING:

CALORIES: 87

FAT: 6.8g

PROTEIN: 1.2g

TOTAL CARBS: 6g

FIBER: 0.4g

NET CARBS: 5.6g