Recipe: Smoked Garlic on Baguette

This is probably the easiest recipe I have ever put on this site.  It is so easy that I'm ashamed to write it down.  It seriously seems like cheating.  The only reason that I'm actually posting it is because of the beautiful color that the garlic took on when we smoked it.  Really, it was that beautiful, although it might not come through on your screen well enough to do it justice.  You'll just have to try it for yourself!  It has just three ingredients - four if you count the smoke. 

 

The smoke is really the important part here, so while oven-roasted garlic is wonderful and tasty I'm going to strongly recommend smoking it.  If you don't have a smoker like the Big Green Egg, you can improvise one using any number of techniques that you can find with a pretty simple Google search.  The only catch is that the timing is a little iffy.  We cooked the garlic alongside the Pomegranate Lamb Chops.  While the lamb chops were perfect, the garlic wasn't cooked to the right consistency.  I wound up having to use a quick microwaving technique that made me feel very lame.  Still, the smoky flavor came through just enough!  I'm going to recommend smoking the garlic for at least an hour. 

 

Smoked Garlic on Baguette (serves 4; approx. $1.45/serving)

1 baguette, sliced into thin rounds

4 heads of garlic

Olive oil

Equipment:

• Smoker
• Large bowl

1. If you aren't already smoking something else - and really, you should be - prepare your smoker.
2. Cut the tops off the heads of garlic.
3. Place the heads in the bottom of a bowl and add olive oil.  You don't have to cover the garlic heads in the oil, but you do need to be able to toss them around and get them good and saturated. 
4. Let the heads sit in the bowl for a minute or two. 
5. Remove the heads to the smoker and let smoke for about an hour.
6. Meanwhile, quickly dip the baguette slices in the olive oil.  Be sure to get both sides of the bread.
7. You'll know that the garlic is ready when it takes on a beautiful golden hue and the cloves feel squishy in their paper.  When you take the garlic off, put the bread slices on and toast quickly, until just golden.
8. Serve.  Guests can either pick cloves off the heads of garlic themselves or, if you're feeling fancy, you can provide them with a tiny fork to remove the cloves from the papers.  Eat by spreading onto a baguette slice. 

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