PHOTOGRAPH BY GILL MURRAY

PHOTOGRAPH BY GILL MURRAY

GOAT’S CHEESE TART

By Theodore Chana

“This gorgeous, creamy tart is actually a crispy crouton, topped with France's ubiquitous Chavroux Goats Cheese. Serve as a super-posh snack or an impressive starter at a dinner party.”

Theodore’s Top Tip: is to blowtorch your goats cheese before placing in the oven - this adds a wonderful caramelization and charred flavour to the dish, that really is hard to beat!

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 45 minutes

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS

For the crouton:

  • 100 grams Goose fat

  • 2 slices White bread

For the pickled butternut squash:

  • 1 Butternut squash

  • 1 Cardamom

  • 1 tsp Celery seeds

  • 500 ml Cider vinegar

  • 185 g Golden caster sugar

  • 1 tsp Ground turmeric

  • 1 tsp Mustard powder

  • 1 Star anise

  • 60 g Caster sugar

  • 1 Garlic clove

  • 2 pinches Ground white pepper

For the red onion chutney:

  • 2 tbsp Olive oil

  • 150 ml Port

  • 500 g Red onions

  • 500 ml Red Wine

  • 100 g Salted butter

  • 2 pinches Salt

  • 50 ml White wine or sherry vinegar

For the garnish:

  • Cucumber

  • Pink lady apples

  • Rapeseed oil

  • Roasted pistachios

  • Red grapes

  • Rocket

METHOD

Pre heat oven to 175 degrees

Red Onion Chutney:

The red onion chutney can be made in advance to save time for creating your Chavroux goats cheese tart.

  1. Peel and slice the red onions finely. Melt the butter and the olive oil in a pan. Put the pan on a high heat.

  2. Place sliced red onions in a thick based pot and keep on stirring making sure that the onions do not catch the bottom of the pan. Add the rest of the melted butter and oil along with a garlic clove, port, red wine, and white wine or sherry vinegar, continue stirring.

  3. Cook for an hour until the chutney is reduced and soft. Leave to cool and then place in a fridge for later.

Make the Croutons:

  1. Cut the crusts off two slices of white bread and try to keep as much of the bread as possible. use a rolling pin to roll flat, then cut into rectangles, approximately two inches by four.

  2. Melt the goose fat gently in a pan, coat the croutons and then cook in the oven at 175 degrees for approximately eight minutes until golden brown.

 Prep Your Veg:

  1. Peel and dice your butternut squash into centimetre cubes, place to the side ready to be pickled.

  2. Place the cardamom, celery seeds, cider vinegar, caster sugar, ground turmeric, mustard powder and star anise in a pan and gently simmer for two minutes.

  3. Place your butternut squash in this pickling liquid for six minutes until soft. take your butternut squash out of the pot and set aside ready for your dish.

Chavroux goats cheese tart plate up: Here is the fun part!

  1. Have your four plates ready for your guests or family and gather all your creations together. 1. First, blowtorch your goats’ cheese and place in the oven at 175 degrees for three minutes. If you do not have a blowtorch, place in oven for four minutes. 

  2. Whilst your goats’ cheese is cooking, cover your crouton with onion jam ready to put the goat’s cheese on top. Pop some chopped grapes, diced apple, pickled butternut squash, shaved cucumber and a wee handful of rocket on your plate.

  3. The plate is your canvas, you can be creative and design your own dish! Once the goats’ cheese is out the oven, carefully lift on top of the crouton 
    using a spatula.

  4. Place your Chavroux goats cheese tart with all your garnish, drizzle some golden rapeseed oil across your canvas and serve!