Ottolenghi’s Caramelized Garlic Tart

You have to try this caramelized garlic tart from Yotam Ottolenghi at least once. This tart is loaded with layer upon layer of flavor as you might expect from Ottolenghi. Whole garlic cloves are blanched, then finished with a light herby sweet and sour caramel. The caramel is flavored with thyme and rosemary as well as a splash of vinegar. Then there’s the crumbled goat cheese. Once the garlic is ready, it’s just a matter of preparing a custard and assembling the tart like you would a quiche.

The recipe relies heavily on the one found in Ottolenghi’s Plenty cookbook which features vegetarian recipes. I’ve also made roasted eggplant with pomegranate and brussels sprouts with tofu from the same cookbook. I had to make several substitutions to suit what I had available.

I complain all the time about the availability of ingredients in Spain, and have finally admitted to myself that it can often be just as frustrating to find things where I live in the US (#firstworldproblems). First off, I went to two stores looking for puff pastry and didn’t feel like driving across town to the “Gucci” grocery which surely carries it. Then, despite Ottolenghi’s recommendation, I also came up empty handed when looking for a goat milk Gouda cheese. We were also out of balsamic vinegar so I substituted good old apple cider vinegar. Finally, I had an open container of sour cream in the fridge which took the place of the crème fraîche. Despite the difficulty of finding the exact ingredients in the original recipe, the garlic tart came out just fine with store bought pie crust and regular Gouda.

image from Pixabay

The caramelized garlic is fun to make and other than peeling the cloves, isn’t that difficult to do. I’m excited to make them again and use them on top of a pizza, maybe with some vine ripened tomatoes and fresh basil. To peel them I tried the shaking them in the jar trick demonstrated in this video. Just separate the cloves from the heads, put them in a quart sized jar with a lid and shake them loose from the peels. I had to dump them out and separate the peeled cloves from the stubborn ones, but it really didn’t take that much effort. In the video above, they used water. I did not. Once the cloves are peeled it’s just a matter of trimming the ends and cutting the larger ones in half. To hasten the cooking time, the garlic is blanched in a small pan for about three minutes.

Caramelized garlic tart is a delicious choice for a special breakfast, brunch or anytime you’re up for a little flavor adventure.

Ottolenghi's Caramelized Garlic Tart

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Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Course: Breakfast, Brunch, Main

Servings: 8 slices

Author: LydiaF

Ingredients

• 1 9 inch pie crust
• 2-3 heads of garlic, depending on their size. Peel the cloves and after trimming, cut the larger ones in half
• 1 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
• pinch red pepper flakes optional
• 1 teaspoon apple cider or balsamic vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 1 generous tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon chopped rosemary dried or fresh
• 1 teaspoon thyme leaves dried or fresh
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup goat cheese (I used crumbles) (4 ounces)
• 1/2 cup shredded Gouda cheese (4 ounces)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup half and half or heavy cream
• 1/3 cup sour cream or crème fraîche

Instructions

• Put the peeled garlic in a small pan and cover with water. Bring to a simmer and cook for 3 minutes.
• Drain the blanched garlic, wipe out the pan and add the olive oil and red pepper flakes if using. Fry the garlic over high heat until it begins to take on some color, 2 minutes or so.
• Add the water and vinegar. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Then add the sugar, rosemary and thyme. Season with salt and continue to cook for another 10 minutes or so until most of the liquid has evaporated and the cloves are coated.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C and assemble the tart
• Roll out the pie crust to fit your tart pan (I used a round cake pan and was happy to eat the extra crust)
• Beat the eggs together with the half and half and sour cream. Season with salt and pepper.
• Crumble the goat cheese into the pie pan and spread evenly. Distribute the caramelized garlic over top along with half of the shredded Gouda.
• Pour over the custard and rearrange the garlic cloves as necessary. Top with the remaining cheese.
• Place the tart in the oven and reduce the heat to 325°F/165°C. Bake for 40 minutes or until the filling has set and the top is a nice color. (Start checking around 30 minutes)
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool briefly before serving.

Notes

The advantage of using pie crust over puff pastry is you don't have to blind bake it. If you'd like to use puff pastry, this post from the BBC demonstrates how to prep it for the tart.

Low Carb Variation: Omit the crust and bake in a 9" pan that's been lightly oiled

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I’m sharing this post with the bloggers of I Heart Cooking Clubs. This month’s featured ingredient was garlic and the other bloggers have prepared some delicious plates!