Updated
April 15, 2016.
This Caramelised Garlic Tart recipe comes from Chef Ottolenghi's book, Plenty. Plenty is a book about vegetables and interesting and inspiring ways to cook them.
The tart makes a great brunch, lunch, dinner, party or picnic dish - a great all rounder. Making the Caramelised Garlic Tart takes a little work, but is well worth the effort.
Ingredients
- 13 oz/375g all-butter puff pastry
- 3 medium heads of garlic, cloves
- separated and peeled
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 cup/220ml water
- ¾ tbsp fine/caster sugar
- 1 tsp chopped rosemary
- 1 tsp chopped thyme, plus a few whole
- sprigs to finish
- 4 ¼ oz/120g soft, creamy goat’s cheese
- 4 ¼ oz/120g hard, mature goat’s cheese
- 2 free-range eggs
- ½ cup/100ml heavy/double cream
- ½ cup/100ml crème fraîche
- salt and black pepper
Preparation
- Roll the puff pastry into a circle to line both the bottom and sides of a 28cm fluted tart tin and line with the pastry. Onto the bottom of the pan, place a large circle of greaseproof paper and fill with a layer of baking beans or rice. Place the tart into the fridge for approx 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C/Gas Mark 4 and bake the pastry case for 20 minutes, remove both the beans and paper and bake for another 5 minutes so the pastry is cooked and golden but not over-browned. Remove from the oven and leave to one side .
- While the tart case is cooking, place the garlic cloves in a small saucepan. Cover with cold water and bring to a gentle simmer, cook for 3 minutes then drain through a colander or sieve.
- Wipe the saucepan dry then add the cloves and olive oil and fry on a high heat for 2 minutes and no more. Add the balsamic vinegar, water and bring to the boil. Simmer gently for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes add the sugar, rosemary, chopped thyme and ¼ teaspoon salt and continue to cook on a medium heat for a further 10 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated and the garlic cloves are coated in a dark caramel syrup. Set aside.
- To assemble the tart: break both goat's cheeses into pieces and scatter in the pastry case and spoon over the garlic and any syrup.
- Whisk together the eggs, creams, ½ teaspoon salt and some black pepper in a jug. Pour over the garlic and cheeses making sure that you can still see both on the surface.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 160°C/Gas Mark 3 and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the tart filling has set and the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool a little then take out of tin, lay a few sprigs of thyme on top and serve warm Serve with a crisp salad. If eating later the tart does reheat very well.
