Butternut Squash Tart

Please be assured that this is not a new trend.

I am not going to start showing photos of a spoon, followed by a saucepan followed by an ingredient and so on.

I am also not going to switch to fussy, complicated recipes.

But….. Sometimes (okay, rarely) we like to do something a little fancy and sometimes, the ‘picture is worth 1000 words’ adage is right on.

This is one of those times.

This is not at all difficult to make but it is a little time-consuming. The photos following the recipe make the steps more clear. Note – they follow the recipe, not precede it.

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Butternut Squash Tart

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I used the ‘neck’ end of a 2lb (1kilo) squash for these.  It gave me nice, thin half circles that followed the shape of the pastry perfectly. Cut it in half the long way before thinly slicing.
The toasted walnuts add crunch and make an elegant finish.

• Author: Kate
• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 2 servings 1x
• Category: First Courses

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 6oz (180gr) butternut squash, cut in thin, half circle slices
• 1/4 cup (1oz, 30gr) walnuts, halves or large pieces
• 3oz (90gr) mushrooms, about 3oz (90gr), sliced
• 1 medium leek, trimmed, thinly sliced white & light green
• 1/4 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/2 tsp rosemary
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 tsp butter
• 1/2 sheet (4oz, 120gr) puff pastry, thawed if frozen

Instructions

• Lay pastry out flat and cut 2 large circles, 5 – 6″ in diameter (13 – 15 cm).
• Lay the circles on a baking sheet.
• Heat butter and oil in medium nonstick skillet over medium heat.
• Add walnuts and sauté 5 minutes, until toasted. 
• Remove walnuts to a plate, leaving oil and butter behind.
• Add mushrooms and leeks to same pan and sauté 5 minutes.
• Remove mushroom/leek to a plate.
• Add butternut squash slices in a single layer and sauté 1 minute per side. I did it in two batches. 
• When done remove and stack up on a plate.
• To assemble: Divide ricotta and spread on each puff pastry circle to within 1/3″ (1cm) of the edge.
• Divide rosemary and sprinkle over ricotta.
• Divide mushroom/leek and spread over ricotta. (photo 1)
• Divide squash slices and lay on mushroom/leek in the following pattern: 1 slice each: top, bottom, left, right with corners overlapping as needed but with small square opening in center. 
• Do a ‘mental’ 1/4 turn of the pastry and repeat layers; twice. (photo 2) 
• Bake in a pre-heated oven at 400F (200C) for 12 – 15 minutes, until sides of pastry
• have puffed around middle and are golden brown and squash is starting to brown.  
• Remove.  
• Divide walnuts and spoon into center of squash. 
• Serve.

Notes

Use a soup bowl as a guide for cutting the pastry.
Puff pastry can be re-frozen once so put whatever is left back in the freezer for another use.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1/2 recipe
• Calories: 500
• Sugar: 4.4 g
• Sodium: 143.1 mg
• Fat: 36.3 g
• Saturated Fat: 10.4 g
• Trans Fat: 0 g
• Carbohydrates: 36.8 g
• Fiber: 4.3 g
• Protein: 11.4 g
• Cholesterol: 26 mg

Keywords: butternut squash, tarts

Photo 1: This one is easy – the ricotta is spread on the pastry, sprinkled with rosemary, then the mushrooms and leeks spread on top.

Photo 2: This is harder to explain succinctly. The photo is after the tarts were baked.

As to my harvest this year…..

This is not the harvest, but 1 representative of each variety.

Starting in the back we picked:

Butternut Squash – 10
Hungarian Blue Pumpkin – 2
Spaghetti Squash (1 plant) – 13
Green Hokaido – 5
Red Kuri – 4
Green Acorn – 16
Golden Acorn – 13
Delicata – 19
Sweet Dumpling – 1

And now we eat.