Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 45 mins
Servings: 8 servings
Ingredients
13 ounces all-butter puff pastry
3 medium heads garlic, cloves separated and peeled (this is the biggest use of time in this recipe. I tried the metal bowl method to separate them in bulk but that didn’t work for me)
Water, as needed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
3/4 tablespoon superfine sugar
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme, plus a few whole sprigs
Salt, to taste
4 1/4 ounces soft, creamy goat cheese
4 1/4 ounces hard, mature goat cheese
2 large eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup crème fraîche
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Steps to Make It
1. Gather the ingredients.
2. Roll the puff pastry into a circle to line both the bottom and sides of a 28cm (11-inch) 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 dry baking beans or rice. Place the tart into the fridge for approximately 20 minutes. (I never put it in the fridge and it always shrinks so the tart ingredients overflow and it’s a bit soggy. I’m going to work on figuring this out in the next year)
3. 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. (It usually blows up a bit but I push the crust back down)
4. 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.
5. 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, 1 cup of water and bring to the boil. Simmer gently for 10 minutes.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. Whisk together the eggs, creams, ½ teaspoon salt and some black pepper. Pour over the garlic and cheeses making sure that you can still see both on the surface.
9. Reduce the oven temperature to 320°F/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 the remaining thyme sprigs on top and serve warm Serve with a crisp salad. If eating later the tart does reheat very well.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
501 Calories
39g Fat
27g Carbs
12g Protein
I love how this recipe terrifies people before they try it and then they can’t stop talking about it or wishing for it once they have had it. I got this recipe from Wendy and David when I was visiting them in Chicago. Recently I was introduced to someone with the description “and she makes the most amazing garlic tart.” I agree! It is amazing. Three bulbs of garlic and three different cheeses and dairy come together to make a surprisingly mild and delicious meal. Served with a simple salad or prime rib, this is still the shining star of the meal.
This recipe started my obsession with Ottolenghi. I have 3 of his cookbooks, have been to his restaurants in London (Nopi is my favorite so far of those I’ve been to), and was lucky enough to see him speak with Ruth Reichl at the 92nd Y when I was in New York with Beth. I am such a big fan.
I’ve been friends with Wendy since I moved to Minneapolis in the fall of 1998. I really wanted to work for MPR and she gave me tips as she was working there at the time. She is creative, so smart and a total delight to be around. I have many fond memories of singing and dancing to “Dancing Queen” and “Believe.” I think the image above was from an invitation to her 30th birthday party we called “return to childhood” and I learned that an Easy-Bake oven is hilarious but perhaps not the best choice for folks who have been drinking. There were a few burned fingers from a hot pan (when lightbulbs actually got really got and could bake cake).
Yes, this is a blurry picture that includes my finger, but I don’t seem to have other photos of us cooking together. Wendy and David were the first friends I started cooking with. When Wendy met David I was the first of the friends to visit them. That first visit I remember drinking far too much and asking David what was wrong with him because he seemed to be perfect. He mentioned that sometimes he didn’t take the garbage out right away which I scoffed at. I mean, who doesn’t stuff the garbage down or precariously balance additional garbage on the top because taking out the garbage is annoying. And once I am motivated to take out the garbage sometimes it sits just outside the door because I know I’m going to go somewhere later and that is when I will put shoes on. Ultimately I think it’s less a failing and more an attempt at efficiency.
When Wendy and David got married, they let Meghan, Stacie, and I host a party for them. We brought all our dishes and made great food and I made loads of napkins I sent with Wendy and David to remember the evening by. One of the cats had gotten to Wendy’s veil, but thankfully the rips were close to the bottom and it could be raised a little bit and the beads sewn back on just in time for the wedding. Of course their wedding was beautiful and so, so fun.
To know both Wendy and David is to love them. They are kind and funny and David and I started cooking together because we both love it. WBEZ had offered the Ottolenghi cookbook for a membership drive. They offered me the cookbook and David had marked which recipes he’d made (one of which was the garlic tart). I think I made the garlic tart the next weekend. It takes loads of time but is 100% worth it.
I have since made it for bookclub Christmas, work meetings and meals with friends. Honestly I feel like if you have been to my house for dinner more than twice, you have eaten this with me. I love it that much.
For David’s birthday one year Wendy had asked his friends to put together memories of their friendship. I was inspired to create a data visualization of the friendship I have with them which then took me a year or two to complete. My favorite was how many people would remark on it when I worked on it at conferences. It was always a great conversational piece. There were a child on an airplane sitting next to me interested to learn the stitches and helped add a few. The best part about projects like that for me are the unexpected joys. Similar to this project of publishing recipes. Being able to think about my friendships and the food we’ve shared is so dang delightful. It also reminds me that it has been far too long since I cooked with Wendy and David and I do need to fix that sometime in the near future.