CONFIT GARLIC AND GOAT’S CURD

❚ 8 heads wet garlic (see note)

❚ Around 750 ml (1 13 ⁄ pints) olive oil

❚ 4 sprigs thyme

❚ 4 sprigs rosemary

❚ 4 bay leaves

❚ Handful of peppercorns

❚ 4 slices sourdough bread

❚ 400 g (14 oz) goat’s curd (or other goat’s cheese) at room temperature

❚ Salt and pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 130°C fan (300°F/gas mark 2).

2. Cut the top two-thirds of the stalks off the garlic heads and discard. Wash the heads if necessary (sometimes they can be a bit gritty). Place them snugly in a heavy-bottomed casserole dish, bottoms down. Pour in enough olive oil to cover the garlic heads entirely. Add the herbs, peppercorns and a pinch of salt. Over a low flame, bring the oil to a gentle boil.

3. Remove the casserole from the heat. Cover with a cartouche (a piece of parchment paper cut to the size of the casserole) and then a tight-fitting lid. Bake until the garlic is soft — about 45 minutes-1 1/2 hours. To test whether the garlic is cooked, remove one head from the casserole using a pair of tongs. If all the cloves are soft, it is cooked. Remove from the oven and leave to cool until warm.

4. Right before serving, toast the bread, cut the slices in half, then cover generously with goat’s curd. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the toast on a platter or individual plates. Place one garlic head on top of each half piece of toast. Drizzle over some of the confit oil and serve with a finger bowl. You can also scatter the bay leaves and herbs over the top.

5. The best way to eat this is to squeeze the head of garlic until the cloves fall out and then spread the soft cloves over the cheese.

Serves: 4

Notes: Wet garlic is the first of the season garlic that hasn’t been hung to dry and so is much sweeter and milder than normal garlic. Save the remaining confit oil for cooking or to confit more garlic. The oil can be reused up to three times for confiting the garlic.