Caramelized Garlic & Goat Cheese Flan

This flan has a lovely, mellow flavour of sweet, caramelised garlic, pairing perfectly with tart goat cheese.

Serves 6

1 pkt of ready-rolled puff pastry

3 medium bulbs of garlic, cloves separated & peeled

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

250 ml water

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp chopped, fresh rosemary

1 tsp dried thyme

½ tsp salt

125g hard, mature goat or sheep cheese

125g Burgos soft cheese (or, if this is unavailable, you could use drained cottage cheese or Ricotta cheese)

2 large eggs

150 ml whipping cream (38% fat)

150 ml natural yoghurt

Salt and freshly-milled black pepper

You will need a loose-bottomed, 26 cm diameter flan tin

1. Roll out the puff pastry into a circle to line the flan tin, allowing a little to overlap the top edge of the tin, which will allow for shrinkage. Line the pastry with greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans. Put in the fridge to rest for 10 minutes.

2.  Preheat the oven to 180ºC and bake the pastry shell for 20 minutes. Remove the baking beans and paper, then bake for a further 10 minutes. Set aside.

3.  Meanwhile, prepare the garlic. Put the cloves in a small pan, cover with water, bring to the boil and blanch for 3 minutes. Drain well. 

4.  Return the cloves to the dry saucepan, add the olive oil and fry on a high heat for 2 minutes, stirring to prevent the cloves sticking. Add the balsamic vinegar and water, bring to the boil and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

5.  Add the sugar, rosemary, thyme and ½ tsp salt. Simmer on a medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced and the garlic cloves are coated in a syrup. Set aside.

6.  In a bowl, whisk together the cream, yoghurt and eggs, seasoning with salt and plenty of black pepper. Set aside.

7.  Break the cheeses into chunks and scatter evenly into the flan case. Spoon the garlic and syrup evenly over, then spoon the egg mixture over, filling any gaps.

8.  Bake at 160ºC for about 45 minutes, or until the flan filling has set and the top is golden. Allow to cool before removing from the tin.

Serve warm or cold with a crisp salad.