This cheesy roasted-garlic bread is your gateway to a great weekend

Name: This cheesy roasted-garlic bread is your gateway to a great weekend
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Italian,American
Ingredients: 2 heads garlic; 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil; 125g butter, softened; ¼ cup chopped parsley; ½ cup grated parmigiano reggiano; 1 loaf country-style white bread or sourdough; 1¼ cups grated mozzarella

Danielle Alvarez

May 24, 2024

The cheesy garlic bread goes perfectly with meatballs “al forno” (pictured).William Meppem

Time:1-2 hoursServes:4

This crusty, cheesy, garlic bread is the only accompaniment worth considering for my oven-baked meatballs in tomato sauce. And the garlic roasts in the time the meatballs take to bake.

Ingredients

2 heads garlic
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
125g butter, softened
¼ cup chopped parsley
½ cup grated parmigiano reggiano
1 loaf country-style white bread or sourdough
1¼ cups grated mozzarella

Method

Step 1
Preheat your oven to 160C fan-forced (180C conventional).
Step 2
Cut off the very top of the garlic heads so that the tip of each clove is removed. Place top down on a large sheet of foil. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, and then enclose tightly in the foil. Place on a baking tray and roast the garlic in the oven for 45 minutes (alongside the meatballs, if you’re making them).
Step 3
In a small mixing bowl, combine the butter, chopped parsley and grated parmigiano reggiano.
Step 4
Remove the garlic from the oven after 45 minutes and once it’s cool enough to handle, squeeze the soft garlic cloves into the butter, including any olive oil still in the foil packet. Stir to combine.
Step 5
Slice the loaf of bread open through the equator and spread the butter evenly on both sides. Place the bread on a tray with the butter side up and sprinkle the mozzarella evenly over both buttered sides.
Step 6
Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the bread is crispy and the cheese melted and bubbly. Cut into thick slabs and serve, ideally with the hot meatballs in sauce.