Another Day, Another Tart (or Two): Butternut Squash Tart and Belgian Leek Tart

Pretty much every time I need to come up with a vegetarian entree, I make a savory tart. What can I say, I love tarts -- sweet or savory -- and I could happily make them all day long. On our recent annual trip to Shenandoah organized by our friends Jim and Colleen, Tom and I divided up our dinner responsibilities in the usual way: he made meat and sides, and I made a savory vegetarian tart and dessert. I decided to double down by making an additional vegetable tart as an appetizer.

For the appetizer, I made a Butternut Squash Tart with Fried Sage. This recipe caught my eye while I was flipping through the October 2012 issue of Bon Appétit, and I have made it once before. It's quite straightforward and only requires a few ingredients. You roll out puff pastry, brush it with egg, arrange slices of butternut squash, cover the tart with parchment, and weigh the tart down with another baking sheet. You bake it briefly, and during this time the squash is steamed, because it is trapped between the puff pastry and the top baking sheet. Then you remove the top baking sheet, brush the squash with olive oil, sprinkle on some salt, and continue baking until the dough is cooked through. Finally, you drizzle on pepper-infused honey (I used Fresno peppers), add some shaved Parmesan and black pepper, and garnish with fried sage.

I absolutely love this squash tart. It is easy to serve and eat, and the crisp, buttery puff pastry topped with the tender squash and touches of honey and heat is simply divine. Tom and I usually stop at Wegman's to grocery shop on our way our to Shenandoah, and there I was able to buy Good Wives puff pastry, which is made with real butter. (I have to admit that normally I use Pepperidge Farm puff pastry even though it's not made with butter; while I can readily buy Dufour at Whole Foods and I know it's considered the gold standard, I just cannot bring myself to pay more than $10 for less than a pound of frozen puff pastry.)

For the vegetarian main course, I made a Belgian Leek Tart with Aged Goat Cheese. I selected this tart not only because it sounded delicious and was very favorably reviewed on epicurious.com, but also because I could make the main components -- the crust and the leek confit -- in advance. When we go to Shenandoah, I'm always looking for recipes that don't require too much work once we're at the cabin. The crust was easy -- just mix flour, salt, cold butter, ice water, and cider vinegar in the food processor, flatten the dough into a disk, and store it in the refrigerator. The confit was also simple: cook sliced leeks, butter, water, and salt for about 30 minutes, until the leeks are soft; cool and chill until needed.

With the dough and confit already prepared, it wasn't difficult finishing the tart at the cabin. I rolled out the crust (it was completely fuss free) and blind baked it. I sprinkled crumbled aged goat cheese onto the partially baked crust (Wegman's came through again in this regard; I was able to buy Bûcheron there, after not finding it at Whole Foods), followed by the leek confit, more crumbled goat cheese, and finally a mixture of milk, cream, egg, egg yolk, and salt. The tart baked up beautifully, and the slices held their shape well after cutting.

This was an excellent tart. The crust was very nice and crispy (even when I reheated a leftover piece in the microwave the following day, the crust was still not soggy), and the filling is substantial and satisfyingly delicious without being too heavy or cheesy. The leeks pair perfectly with the goat cheese and every component of this tart makes sense together. Both of these tarts were terrific.

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Louise said…
I need to try both of these, but especially the Butternut Squash Tart. Wonder how it would be with rough puff pastry. We don't have Whole Foods or Trader Joe's, but I shop at Wegmans, and the farmers markets, every week.
November 21, 2012 at 11:47 AM
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