iStock

One of my favorite ways to cook garlic is simply to roast it until it becomes soft and spreadable. I cut about a quarter inch off the top of the head, place it on a baking dish, drizzle it with olive oil, and cover it with foil. Pop it in a 400-degree oven for about 35 minutes and you have an effortless beginning to any meal.

This week I’m going a step further and making two dishes centered around roasted garlic plus ingredients I don’t normally use. For dinner it’s a Roasted Garlic and Barley Soup , and for lunch the next day, Warm Dandelion Salad with a Roasted Garlic Dressing.

Roasted Garlic and Barley Soup is fragrant, earthy, and, well, just plain good for us. I like incorporating a variety of grains into my meals, and to familiarize my little one early on with less common grains like barley.  (Then, hopefully, he won’t turn them down later.) Whole grains are packed with fiber and other nutrients, and make most dishes just plain heartier. The barley in this soup is so satisfying and the roasted garlic so flavorful that I can get away with making this dish the entire meal. It also calls for plenty of zucchini, which means the meal  also has a decent vegetable content.

Warm Dandelion Salad with a Roasted Garlic Dressing. In the spirit of always trying something new, I decided to use my roasted garlic on day two for this salad using dandelion greens. Yes, these green jagged-leafed plants grow like weeds and sprout yellow flowers, but they’re also quite delicious and nutritious (containing beta-carotene, fiber, potassium, iron, calcium, magnesium, and on and on). The roasted-garlic dressing balances out the slight bitterness of the greens. As a lunch main course I topped it off with some leftover chicken to make it a more substantial meal. If you don’t have chicken, try frying an egg for the salad; it’s an easy protein. And If you can’t find dandelion greens, baby spinach or arugula will work well.

Every week when I go to the supermarket I take a moment to examine the cart. I play a little game with myself and choose at least a few things I didn’t have the week before. This week it was barley and dandelion greens; next week, who knows? Stay tuned.

Want to cook better? Watch Colombe Jacobsen-Derstine’s fabulous how-to videos on Better TV. And check out all her Cook Once, Eat Twice columns.

You might also like:

Pasta: Cook Once, Eat Twice

Wild for Shrimp: Cook Once, Eat Twice

Comforting Beef and Barley Soup: It Just Tastes Indulgent

Easy Oven-Roasted Salmon

White Beans: Cook Once, Eat Twice

Categories: Cook Once, Eat Twice | Tags: Barley Soup, Greens, Salad, Soup
No Comments | Post Your Comment