Step 1

Preheat the oven to 400°F and place the oven rack in the middle position.

Step 2

Peel the loose paper off the garlic, leaving the tight paper skins intact. Keep the whole head together, don't separate any of the cloves.

Step 3

Using a sharp knife, slice off the top 1/2" of the whole head of garlic, or enough to expose the tops of the cloves.

Step 4

Place garlic on a sheet of foil and drizzle the exposed cloves liberally with olive oil. Season with a sprinkle of salt, pepper.

Step 5

Wrap the foil up around the garlic loosely, then place the garlic in a baking dish and roast in the oven for 35 - 50minutes.

Step 6

To remove garlic from the paper cloves, just squeeze at the root end of the head, and the soft garlic should slide right out.

Step 7

Serve warm, or let cool and add to an airtight container. Cover with some olive oil if desired.