Roasted Garlic Santa Fe

Roasted Garlic Santa Fe

EASY! Make-Ahead components.

Crostini:

1 French baguette

2 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon dried parsley

Salt

Roasted Garlic Heads:

2 whole heads of garlic. Choose plump, firm garlic heads.

¼ cup olive oil

For Tomatillo Salsa Verde:

7 tomatillos, about 2 cups, outer leaves removed, chopped

1 serrano pepper, de-seeded and chopped

3 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves, stems removed

¼ cup white onion, chopped

Salt to taste

1/3 – ½ pound shredded Monterey Jack cheese

3 green onion tops, sliced thinly into rounds

Serves 4 - 6

Crostini

Make ahead: Can be made ahead up to one week, store at room temperature in airtight container. Some grocery stores offer pre-made.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cut French baguette crosswise in 1/4” rounds. Brush both sides with olive oil and lightly sprinkle with salt and dried parsley. Lay them in one layer on cookie sheet. Bake 10 minutes or until lightly browned, rotate cookie sheet and flip crostini, bake until browned. (TIP: I generally don’t do anything else while I’m toasting bread because I tend to burn it if I don’t pay close attention.) Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Roasted Garlic

Make ahead: Can be made ahead, store in refrigerator in airtight container.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Remove papery outer skin from whole heads of garlic, leaving tougher clove sheaths and garlic head intact. With a sharp knife, cut off the top of the garlic head, about 1/2” from the top. Discard tops. Put garlic cloves, cut end up, in a roasting pan or muffin tin. Drizzle and rub olive oil all over each. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes until clove centers are cooked and soft. Remove from oven.

Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees and place empty heat-proof serving platter in oven to warm for 10 minutes.

Tomatillo Salsa Verde

Make ahead: Can be made one day ahead. Make fresh, tastes much better than pre-packaged.

Combine all ingredients in food processor or blender and pulse a few times until you have a course salsa consistency. Adjust taste. It should be bright and tangy. Set aside.

Make ahead: If you have made all the above items ahead of time, bring all ingredients to room temperature. Place empty heat-proof platter and garlic heads in cool oven and heat to 350 degrees, then proceed.

Remove warmed platter, set aside garlic heads, spread the shredded jack cheese on 2/3 of the plate. Using oven mitts, return platter to oven, and let cheese melt, 5 - 7 minutes, check often. Remove from oven. Pour 1 cup of the tomatillo salsa onto the empty end of the plate and top with roasted garlic heads. Place crostini over cheese, sprinkle with green onions.

Serve hot with small spoons or knives for gathering ingredients.