Now this recipe is a little fiddly! But persevere because the caramelised garlic cooked in water with the herbs, balsamic vinegar and a dash of sugar really makes this special. I always use MORE garlic than the 3 bulbs. And don’t be tempted to overdo the sugar, it doesn’t need much. Everyone who’s had this at the farm loves it! I often prepare the garlic like this to use as a side order on the table…….it’s a richer variation to my very regular dish – the simple baked garlic bulb.
Ingredients
- 13 oz/375g all-butter puff pastry
- 3 medium bulbs 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
Method
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 and serve warm with a crisp salad.
If eating later the tart does reheat very well.