baking elephant garlic

baked garlic is always fun, if messy. elephant garlic is easier to peel when baked, and the flavor is more subdued, which makes for a more diverse audience. as shown here, the skin will fall away easily.
preheat oven to 350. slice the top of the bulb off, enough to expose some of each clove. drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. bake loosely covered for an hour.
you can peel and mash the cloves and then serve as a spread, or use as an ingredient-- i used these in the smashed potatoes described below.