butternut squash tart

Inspired by a dish at one of our favorite local eateries, we tried our hand at recreating Tap's butternut squash tart using a recipe we found online as a guide. Tap's Roasted Butternut Squash Tart has a parmesan crust and basmati rice, and is topped with arugula and walnut balsamic dressing. The recipe we used has a ricotta filling, so we left out the basmati rice. We made our tart free form, using refrigerated puff pastry dough (Pillsbury - gotta love those guys!), but if you have a tart pan - go for it! After watching 2 (two!) instructional videos online (this one was the best), we tackled preparing our butternut squash to become a part of our tart!

BUTTERNUT SQUASH TART RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

1 package of puff pastry dough
zest of one lemon

1 cup ricotta cheese
1 egg plus one egg yolk
1/2 cup caramelized onions
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

20 very thin (1/8-inch) slices of butternut squash* save the seeds! (5 slices per tart)

1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

fresh ground pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 375.

Prepare the butternut squash by slicing in half lengthwise and then peeling with a vegetable peeler. Then (following our video chef's advice) cut the squash to separate the neck and base, and then cut rounds like you would a cantaloupe. *We pre-cooked the slices in a tiny bit of olive oil with salt and rosemary in a covered pan for 10 minutes before using them on the tart to soften them up. We also took our video chef's advice and toasted the seeds from the squash to use for a topping on our salad (yum!). (To toast the seeds, just rinse the gunk off, and pop them on a greased cookie sheet at 375 for about 8 minutes with a touch of salt).

Thaw the puff pastry dough. Put it out on a lightly floured counter top and roll it out a bit thinner - roughly 1/8-inch. We cut the dough into 4 pieces to make 4 individual tarts. Prick the dough in the middle of the tart a few times with the tines of a fork, and sprinkle most of the lemon zest right onto the rolled-out dough.

In a small bowl mix the ricotta, one egg, onions and salt together. Spread the ricotta mixture onto the base of the tart. Don't go quite all the way to the edge, because you're going to fold the edges over later to contain all the ooey gooey deliciousness. Arrange about 5 slices of squash on top, and then fold the edges of the pastry back in toward the filling (an inch or so).

Brush the pastry with the egg yolk and bake for 30-35 minutes or until tart shell is golden and the filling has set. Remove from oven and top with parmesan cheese, and bake until just melted.

Serve warm, top with arugula and balsamic, and sprinkle with the roasted seeds, any remaining lemon zest and a bit of fresh ground pepper.

Bon appetit!

>> You can see photos from our tart adventure here.