ALLCAPS COOKBOOK PRESENTS: Caramelized Garlic and Goat Cheese Tart (Patreon)

The hits from the epic Worldcon Haus of Friendship pre-game just keep coming! (Ie, the week before Worldcon when my lil nerd coven gathered to cook a stupid amount of food and cackle at the moon)

Now, I love garlic. Do you love garlic? Sure, everyone does. Except people who are highly allergic, like my partner. And people who just don't love garlic which is fine, everyone makes their own choices in this vale of tears.

But I love garlic. 

So the amount of garlic in this beast HIGHLY appealed while said partner was not present to be made ill by a whole house smelling like Garlic Gary's Gilroy Garage. 

We adapted the recipe from this one, but made quite a few changes, and if I made it again, I'd make a few more to give it a bit of texture and depth beyond the soft creaminess of it all. Said changes (pistachios, chipotle, honey/balsamic reduction) are included in the modified recipe below, but feel free to remove them for a milder tart.

This thing RULES as breakfast--and those tomatoes up there are NOT optional. This is very rich and decadent and it NEEDS a bit of acid to balance all that out. I might even give those tommies a quick white vinegar bath while the tart bakes, just to give it a flash-pickle and a bit more bite. 

But however you roll on this one, you end up with a velvety, sweet-bot-not-too-sweet roasted garlic bomb that pairs pretty well as a side dish to any meat, or as a meal all its own. Hell, throw a few slices of crumbled bacon into the goop and you've got your protein for a complete, coma-inducing, meal!

We Look For Things To Make It Go

13 ounces all-butter puff pastry (storebought is fine, as is a regular storebought pie crust, which is what we used)

3 medium heads, not cloves, garlic, cloves separated and peeled

Water, as needed

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

3/4 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme, plus a few whole sprigs

Salt, to taste

8.5 ounces goat cheese

4 large eggs

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/3-1/2 cup crushed pistachios (depending on your PISTACHIO HUNGER LEVEL)

1 chipotle pepper in adobo, chopped fine

2 tsp balsamic vinegar reduction syrup 

1 tsp honey

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Turn On your TARTLIGHT

Do the bean thing: Roll puff pastry into a circle big enough to line the bottom of your tart tin or pie dish and come all the way up the sides. On the bottom of the pan, place a large circle of parchment paper and fill with a layer of dry baking beans or rice. Chill the tart in the fridge for 20 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 350°F and bake the whole tin, beans and all, 20 minutes, remove both the beans and paper and bake for another 5 minutes so the pastry is cooked and golden but not brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

While the tart crust is cooking, put the garlic cloves in a small saucepan. Cover with cold water and bring to a gentle simmer, cook for 3 minutes then drain.

Wipe the saucepan dry, then add the cloves and olive oil and fry on a high for 2 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar, which will splash, 1 cup of water, which will also splash, and bring to the boil. Simmer gently on low for 10 minutes. (sometimes boiling vinegar can get a little chemical warfare-y, watch out)

After 10 minutes add the sugar, rosemary, chipotle pepper, 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 cheese into pieces and scatter in the pastry along with 1/4-1/3 ish of the pistachios. (Add crumbled bacon here if you're rocking that way!) Pour garlic evenly over it and scrape out any remaining syrup.

Whisk together the eggs, cream, ½ teaspoon salt and some black pepper. Pour over the garlic and cheeses making sure that you can still see both on the surface.

Reduce the oven temperature to 320°Fand bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the tart filling has set and the top is golden brown. At the 25-minute mark, sprinkle the top with remaining pistachios and return to oven for remaining 10-15 minutes. 

Remove from the oven and leave to cool. Remove from tin, drizzle top with alternating lines of balsamic reduction and honey, then place remaining thyme sprigs on top and serve warm with vinegared tomatoes and/or other salad bits.