Simple Butternut Squash Tart
Puff pastry serves as the foundation for this simple yet eye-popping butternut squash tart. The golden crust supports a ricotta cheese slather, caramelized onions, thin slices of bright orange squash, and goat cheese.
This simple, vibrantly colored butternut squash tart recipe provides a nice amount of payoff for the minimal amount of effort that goes into it. I get invited to a lot of potlucks, so I've been trying to develop a repertoire of quick but delicious recipes for these occasions. Keyword is quick. When I don't have a good game plan, I end up spending an entire day thinking about what I want to make, shopping and locating the ingredients, all before I get down to the actual cooking and party-going. It can be too much.
I had to pull something together the other night for a weeknight get-together with some of my girlfriends, and decided to try something new. While I was in New Zealand recently we stayed with old friends, Hadley is a great cook and whipped up a delicious savory tart one night in no time flat. A simple slather of ricotta (and a bit of egg) topped with tomato and basil on a golden, puff pastry platform. She said it was a Bill Granger staple, came together in a snap, and never fails to be a crowd-pleaser.
Because it isn't tomato season on this side of the globe, I decided to make a winter remix of the tart we ate at Hadley's. I peppered the ricotta base with flecks of caramelized onions and topped it with thin cross-sections of butternut squash and good goat cheese - both with rind intact for a more rustic look. You could do individual versions of these (see pic) as well.
If you don’t have butternut squash - honey nut squash, red kuri squash, and kabocha squash are all good substitutes.
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More Butternut Squash Recipes
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Simple Butternut Squash Tart
You can make this in a pan or free form, you can make one big one, or multiple smaller ones. I had caramelized onions left over from a previous recipe so I used them in the ricotta - don't be afraid to experiment with seasonal ingredients. You could even sweeten up the ricotta a bit when summer comes around and do a stone fruit or berry version. I very rarely use puff pastry, but when I do, I look for Dufour, it is made with real butter and is outrageously delicious. Other brands tend to be made with shortening/partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. It is easy to scale the ricotta filling in this recipe for use in different sized pans or multiple tarts. Use 1 cup ricotta to 1 egg.
- 10 very thin (1/8-inch) slices of butternut squash
- 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
- 6 - 10 very thin slices of goat cheese pepper
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Preheat oven to 375°F.
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Pre-cook the butternut squash in a bit of olive oil in a covered pan for 2-3 minutes and set aside to cool.
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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. Be sure to roll it to fit your tart pan if you are using one (again, you can make this tart free form w/ no pan if you like). Leave about an inch worth of edges draped over the pan (you will need to fold this back in over the filling later. 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.
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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, it makes it hard to fold the edges over later. Arrange the slices of squash on top, and the slices of goat cheese on top of the squash.
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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.
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Serve warm, cut into small slices (it is quite rich) sprinkled with any remaining lemon zest and a bit of pepper (I used red peppercorns this time around).
Makes one six/seven-inch square tart or multiple smaller tarts.
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Butternut Squash Soup with Red Lentils
A beautiful butternut squash soup with enough substance to make a real meal of it. Finish each bowl with a colorful medley of toppings: a bright herb oil, toasted pepitas, goat cheese, or whatever else you have on hand. Peak meal in a bowl situation.
Cherry Tomato Tart with Burnt Scallion Ricotta
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Sourdough Galette with Delicata Squash
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Comments
I made this a few days ago. I didn’t have butternut squash, but did have a Kobucha squash. It tasted great! I even had it for breakfast. It is very rich though. Now I’ll have to try the puff pastry you recommended. P.S.: I love this blog. I usually lurk, but I have tried a handful of your recipes–always really good!
I love butternut squash and this looks like a great use for it! I posted a butternut squash risotto recipe recently that was also quite good.
That looks lovely!
Many congrats to you Heidi. Your recipes are always truly glorious and of the “I want this right now” type! Healthy, colorful. Like this one!
That tart looks delicious, I think I might try out the potluck concept on friends here – it is not something that familiar in the UK.
Congratulations on the book!!! And, the tart looks divine! I’ll have to try this one. I love it’s rustic look.
sounds good, I shall try it, potluck or no.
now, a challenge: how about potluck dishes that are easy to transport by bus/streetcar/subway/bicycle? something you can stow in a knapsack or carrier bag?
Great-looking recipe! I’ll have to give it a try. I’m going to use your suggestion (from December) about designating one night a week for soups – I’m going to do soup or stew on Thursday nights. I’ll do a roundup if other bloggers want to join me. I linked back to you in my post.
Thank heavens for puff pastry. Sweet, savory, it can do almost anything except diaper the baby (a place we just don’t want to go!). And you put it to especially good use with this lovely tart. Add this recipe to my ever-lengthening list of “must-try” delights.
Caramelized onions, butternut squash, and soft cheese (especially a nice chevre) make one of my favorite combinations–Veggie Planet in Cambridge, MA does it very well in their “Dinner for Henry”–but for some reason I never thought to try making it myself with puff pastry. Amazing! Next time I cook for some friends, I’ll try this out. I like the idea of spicing it up with red peppercorns too.
I made it last night and it was delicious. Even my picky daughter liked it! The lemon zest is an inspired addition.
Thanks
the title immediately got my attention with 3 of my favorite things: butternut squash, simple & tarte.
thanks for the recipe inspiration and good luck with all the cookbook stuff!
My local apple farmer gave me two butternut squash to bring home today. They are hurt, ever so slightly, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to sell them. I bought some pears, too, and there’s always puff pastry in my freezer. Tomorrow I’ll pick up a bit of goat cheese….this tart sounds wonderful!
Looks great! It’s always nice to see a new way to use butternut squash. Risotto and soup are nice, but sometimes I want something that showcases the texture of the squash a bit more.
butternut squash and goat cheese . . .YUM!
i’m looking forward to your cookbook. i also am trying to eat more natural. thanks!
Damn girl, you rule. You just TOTALLY TOTALLY rule.
mmm, souns tasty. I love butternut squash. I made a very tasty risotto w some recently that I posted about, will have to give this a try.
What eye candy! This looks delicious. I love the idea of combining these ingredients. Mmm, I can almost taste it now – crispy, flakey, buttery crust with cream ricotta and the sweet flavor from the squash with a zing of pepper… I can’t wait to try this one
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