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Roasted Garlic with Goat Cheese

Whole garlic heads are baked in wine and stock, then served with a goat cheese mixture spread on bread.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Garlic and onion match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Roasted Garlic with Goat Cheese

Oven180 degrees Celsius

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the garlic

  1. With the point of a knife make an incision in each garlic bulb about 4 cm. from the top.

  2. Remove the first layer of skin from the tops so that the points of the cloves are showing.

  3. Grease a baking dish and arrange the bulbs in the dish.

  4. Dot the bulbs with the butter, using 1/2 Tbsp. of butter for each bulb.

  5. Sprinkle with pepper.

Roast the garlic

  1. Pour the wine and stock into the baking dish, cover with aluminum foil and bake in an oven preheated to 180 degrees Celsius for 45 minutes.

  2. Remove the foil and bake for 15 minutes longer.

  3. The cloves will be done when some of the garlic comes off on the tip of a sharp knife inserted into the cloves.

  4. Remove from the oven.

Make the cheese mixture

  1. Place all but 3 Tbsp. of the crème fraîche in a bowl and add the cheese, mashing together with a fork.

  2. Add the remaining crème fraîche if necessary and continue beating with a fork until the mixture has the texture of a thick puree.

  3. Add the chopped spring onions and mix well.

Serve

  1. To serve, place 1 slice of bread and 1 garlic bulb on each plate, and place the remaining garlic on a serving plate in the center of the table.

  2. Pass the cheese mixture separately.

  3. Guests should spread the cheese on the bread; then, using a fork, they should press the garlic flesh out of each clove and spread it on top.

  4. The garlic may then be sprinkled with olive oil if desired.

  5. Serve with dry red wine as an appetizer.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

868Calories
22 gProtein
36 gFat
109 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Cheese1 oz (28g) cheddar113
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Wine2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)25
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Garlic + oniontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Garlic + olivetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together25,665 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  3. Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,232 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

  4. Cheese + breadtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,130 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

  5. Garlic + peppertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,090 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Garlic
Roasts to a soft, sweet, spreadable flesh that becomes mellow and nutty in flavour.
Butter
Adds richness and moisture, helping the garlic cloves roast tender rather than dry.
Creme fraiche
Adds creamy body and mild tang, giving the cheese mixture a smooth, spreadable texture.
Goats' cheese
Provides a tangy, savoury body that sets the mixture into a thick, spreadable puree.
Dry white wine
Steams the garlic in the baking dish, keeping the cloves moist while they soften.
Country style bread
Gives a crisp, sturdy base that holds the soft garlic and cheese spread.

The step that matters

Judging when the garlic is done. Garlic that is underbaked stays sharp and firm, while overbaking dries and scorches it. Testing with a knife tip checks that the cloves are soft and creamy all the way through before serving.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (garlic, butter, pepper, white wine, cheese, bread, olive):

  1. Tomatofits better
  2. Capsicumfits about as well
  3. Onionthe original
  4. Potatofits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against garlic, butter, pepper, white wine, cheese, bread, olive. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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