The Queen of Tarts…Garlic Tarts That Is.

Recipe number two: Caramelized Garlic Tart (pg. 38). Once again taking the “what’s in my pantry” approach (and considering I’ll be cooking with my mom again, who happens to LOVE garlic, as do I), I chose this yummy looking garlic and goat cheese tart as my next endeavor.

After a successful first dish (or dishes), and having made quiches and pot pies before, I was feeling pretty confident that this tart would be a breeze. The only thing I was worried about was the creme fraiche – not something typically found in grocery stores. However, a quick Google search revealed that this is a super easy thing to make at home, so my creme fraiche will be homemade. Just a little bit of heavy cream and buttermilk and a long time in the fridge!

I began by setting the puff pastry. Not having pie weights, I used dried beans. This took 20 minutes (as recommended in the recipe). Then I began on the prep and the cooking: I baked the puff pastry crust and in the meantime, caramelized the garlic, and whipped up the “cream” filling. The garlic smelled wonderful, especially after adding the balsamic, rosemary, and thyme!

            

Once the pastry shell was nice and golden, I added the 2 goat cheeses (a hard gouda and a soft chevre), the caramelized garlic, and  the filling.

Then into the oven to bake. In total, the cooking and prep took me about 40 minutes (not including the 20 for setting the crust). I baked the tart for 38 minutes; it set beautifully and had a nice, light golden brown on top. I did an excellent job, if I do say so myself! It looked almost exactly like the picture in the book (L: mine; R: the book’s).

                                       

And it tasted out of this world! It was so delicious I had seconds. While we put 3 heads of garlic in the tart, it was not garlicky in the traditional sense; the caramelization really shined through. The cheese was great and there was a noticeable contrast between the bites with just gouda and the bites with the chevre. My mom and I gave this recipe a very solid 5 stars. There is a bunch left over and I cannot wait to indulge further over the next few days.

The caption for this recipe in the cookbook says: “‘I think this is the most delicious recipe…in the world!’ wrote Claudine after trying it out for me [Chef Ottolenghi]. What else can I add?” Spot on. What a great and easy recipe!