Roasted Garlic Vegan Aioli

Recently I was having a conversation with some friends who had family in Massachusetts’s about garlic (my favorite topic). They were telling me about this garlic paste that their family will sometimes bring them – a sort of creamy and oily tangy delight. They made it sound like the worlds fluffiest garlic paste – but honestly I was completely sold at garlic.

I myself am always looking for new dips, spreads, and sauces to try and thought this was the perfect opportunity to do so. The Lammas feast was right around the corner and all that bread certainly needed something to be smeared on it! Originally, I set out to make this completely out of garlic with no cream base. However, when I roasted my single head of garlic it simply was not enough so I improvised…. The leftover cashewmilk yogurt in my fridge was begging to be used *shrug*. Which is how we arrived at this miraculous Roasted Garlic Aioli.

The texture is nice a creamy but also still pungent and spicy with a good garlic taste. I added some dill and garlic scapes for a bit of freshness and the result was heavenly. There was not a drop left at the end of the evening. Thus, I feel it is my duty to impart this recipe upon fellow party hosts and sandwich lovers alike! Here you have it – the dip that keeps on giving! (not really though because it runs out quick). I scaled the recipe up here so it will last a bit longer.

Ingredients

• 3 medium sized heads of garlic
• 4 tbsp. high quality olive oil
• 1/4 cup dairy free yogurt (or veganaise)
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp sea salt plus more to taste
• 3 garlic scapes (or green onions) chopped
• 3 tbsp. dill chopped
• pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 F
2. Cut the top 1/2 inch off the garlic bulbs just to expose the cloves inside – this should mostly be papery so you lose only a small amount of the clove itself
3. Place the garlic cut side up in a small baking tin or cake tin, you may choose to wrap them in foil but I don’t find this entirely necessary. Drizzle 1 tbsp of olive oil carefully over the top of the clove. Do this a little at a time in order to allow the olive oil to trickle down into the garlic head. Sprinkle 1 tsp of salt and paprika over the top, reserve the “to taste” portion for later
4. Once the oven is preheated, place the garlic in the oven and roast for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and invert the bulb so it is cut side down and roast for another 10 to 20 minutes or until the cloves have softened
5. Remove the garlic from the oven and allow it to cool completely to room temperature. Carefully extract each of the cloves and place them in the bowl of a food processor – they should be golden and slightly mushy.
6. Puree the garlic in the food processor until it begins to take on a smooth consistency. Drizzle in the remaining 3 tbsp. of olive oil and the salt and pepper to taste.
7. Combine the garlic puree with the 1/4 cup of yogurt, scapes, and dill. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as desired.
8. I think this is best smeared on bread as a condiment for a sandwich or as a bread dip set out at parties. It is pungent and creamy and delish!

Enjoy!