Serves 6 – 8
Ingredients
- 500g Rough Puff Pastry (follow this link for recipe)
- 8 globe artichokes
- 4 sweet white onions, very thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 garlic clove, very finely chopped
- 1 fresh or dried bay leaf
- 300ml double cream
- 200g soft, fresh, rindless goat’s cheese
- Olive oil, for cooking
- 150-g piece of aged goat’s cheese
To Garnish
- Seasonal salad leaves
- 4 radishes, thinly sliced
- 30ml aged balsamic vinegar
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4. Roll out the rough puff pastry to about 5mm thick and cut out your preferred shape. Line a baking tray with baking parchment, then put the pastry in the middle with another piece of parchment on top, and a heavy baking tray on top of the parchment. Bake in the oven until golden and crisp, about 25 minutes. Leave the oven on.
- Meanwhile, prepare the artichokes, keeping the stalk if the artichokes are young or tender. Set aside in a bowl of acidulated water.
- Sweat the onions in the butter in a pan until soft, then add the garlic and bay leaf, then the cream. Cook slowly on a low heat until the onions are very soft and the cream has reduced. Remove the bay leaf, add the soft, fresh goat’s cheese and blend the mixture to a smooth purée.
- Cut the prepared artichokes lengthways into slices the thickness of a pound coin. Quickly sauté in some olive oil in a hot frying pan, then remove and cool. Spoon the onion and goat’s cheese purée over the cooked pastry, then arrange the artichokes on top. Heat through in the oven for 3–4 minutes, then remove from the oven and shave the aged goat’s cheese over the top. Garnish with the seasonal leaves and sliced radishes, finished with a drizzle of aged balsamic.
Extract from The Skills by Monica Galetti (Quadrille £20) Photography: Cristian Barnett
