Flavour hack toast: red onion marmalade, goats’ cheese & smokey garlic chips
Last month we were lucky enough to get our hands on some very special smoked garlic from the Garlic Farm on the Isle of Wight, via a wonderful new online farmers’ market called Nourished Communities. Nourished Communities support makers, growers and producers who have been impacted by Covid 19; it sells an incredible variety of products form independent food businesses - do check them out!
The smoked garlic is really something and adds a lovely layer of complexity to this simple dish - it’s deep, sweet and smokey; but fresh garlic works very well too.
Flavour hacks.
This recipe is a simple use case for our red onion marmalade which is a handy, long-life chutney of sorts; it’s a useful flavour hack to have on standby for ploughman’s’ lunches on the weekend, and simple ‘toast topper’ style lunches mid week such as this one! Similarly, this recipe is served with a green salad which is dressed with our flavour hack Dijon vinaigrette.
Crispy fried garlic is a truly decadent treat! It takes a little while to peel and finely slice the garlic, but the results are very much worth it! They add a lovely crunch to many dishes, and the frying process mellows the garlic’s pungency wonderfully.
Prep time (exc. red onion marmalade): 15 minutes
Cooking time (exc. red onion marmalade): 8 minutes
This recipe serves 2.
Ingredients :
2 large, thick-cut slices sourdough
100 g - 120 g soft goats’ cheese
4-6 tbsp red onion marmalade
6 cloves garlic
4 tbsp olive oil
6 sprigs fresh thyme
To serve:
Green salad
Method:
Let your red onion marmalade come up to room temperature.
Peel the garlic cloves and very finely slice; aim for slithers no thicker than 1 mm if possible. For this you’ll need your chef’s knife to be as sharp as possible, and make sure your chopping board is stuck down with two squares of damp paper towels or a damp thin cloth.
Heat the olive oil in your smallest frying pan over a medium heat, and once hot, add the sliced garlic which should sizzle immediately. Shallow fry for 2 minutes on the first side before flipping and frying for 1 minute. The garlic should take on a gentle golden colour without becoming too dark and bitter.
Once cooked lift the garlic from the oil onto a square of kitchen paper. Do not discard the oil in the pan, this has beautiful flavour and can be used for drizzling on your loaded toast.
Grill or toast the sourdough then ‘smoosh’ and spread the goats’ cheese on top, followed by the red onion marmalade.
Top each slice with the fried garlic chips and strip over some fresh thyme leaves. Finish with a generous pinch of salt and a drizzle of the garlicky olive oil from the pan.
Serve with a simple green salad, dressed with our flavour hack Dijon vinaigrette.
A wine pairing:
We recommend a generous Italian white wine such as this organic Catarratto from Sicily made my Vinca wine. Read more here.
