Caramelised Butternut Tart with Rosemary & Pecans

Because you can absolutely have a tart for supper mid-week.

Summer is taking her time to show up here in Cape Town - in fact, the few teasing hot days are predictively inconsistent for this time of year and as a friend reminded me that in Cape Town, November is probably the equivalent of March/April in Europe.

So here is a perfect mid season tart if you are in the Southern or Northern hemisphere, where one is either eagerly awaiting the arrival of Summer or tucking into the comfort season of Autumn.

Why you should make this tart:

• its easy

• you can roast the butternut a few days ahead - giving you a head start

• once the squash is roasted the tart only takes 30-minutes to bake

• there is minimal washing up

A note on shop-bough puff pastry:

I urge you to make this tart with ALL BUTTER PUFF PASTRY (shop-bought) which is made using real butter. The vegan version unfortunately contains palm-oil & margarine-like ingredients which will just not taste the same. If you are unsure, have a good look at the ingredient label.

In South Africa a decent all butter pastry comes in 2 x 250g sheets rather than one large rectangular 320g.

A note on ingredients

Creme fraiche is thick cultured cream, a bit like sour cream, just thicker. As an alternative, you can use a good (really) thick Greek yogurt too. I like the creme fraiche, from Dalewood fromage, they deliver in Cape Town.

An aged balsamic vinegar, for me, hits the right balance between acidity and slight sweetness (like this one). There are many versions of this classically made vinegar from Modena in Italy, but I like something a little thick and aged to ensure a good balance. Aged sherry vinegar from Spain would work well too.

A note on the sweetness of the tart

Roasting any veg, especially pumpkins/butternuts intensifies their sweetness, it’s important to offset the sweet with salty (parmesan) and acidic ingredients (balsamic vinegar and creme fraiche). The bitterness of the radicchio leaves and rocket is also a perfect way to cut through any sweetness.

Here is a little visual from my INSTAGRAM FEED (click here).

Serves 4 as a light lunch or starter

Ingredients

• 1kg butternut (or pumpkin)

• 1 x 320g all-butter puff pastry or 2 x 250g pastry squares (see intro)

• 1 cup creme fraiche (or full fat Greek yogurt)

• 3 tbsp extra-virgin oilve oil more to drizzle

• 1 garlic clove grated

• salt & pepper

• 1 large sprig rosemary leaves

• 1 cup parmesan finely grated

• ½ cup pecan nuts roughly chopped

• aged balsamic vinegar/fresh lemon juice to serve

Side Salad

• 2 cups raddichio roughly, torn into bitesize

• 1 cup wild rocket roughly, torn into bitesize

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200c. Slice the butternut in half and each half into into 1 cm thick half-moon slices, peel the slices, alternatively simply use ready-diced packs.

2. Place squash slices/wedges/cubes in a single layer on a roasting tray. Drizzle with olive oil and season liberally with salt and pepper. Roast for 15-20 min until just tender. Remove, either use the same baking paper for the tarts or line with new paper.

3. In a small bowl, add the creme fraiche/yogurt, garlic and olive oil, taste & season with salt & pepper.

4. Lay the cold pastry out flat on the lined baking tray(s) (not wax paper!) and carefully score a 1cm border around the edges, taking care not to cut through the pastry.

5. Spread the creme fraiche/yogurt mix inside the border on the puff pastry. Add the chopped rosemary and the parmesan cheese (reserve some for the topping).

6. Next cover the inside with the squash, followed by a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper. Scatter over the pecans and reserved cheese.

7. Bake in the oven for 25/30 minutes or until the pastry is golden.

8. While the tarts are cooking, dress the salad leaves with olive oil, salt, pepper and a few drizzles of the aged balsamic dressing or lemon juice, set aside.

To serve drizzle the tarts with balsamic vinegar (or a squeeze lemon juice) and serve with the salad on the side. TIP: for me, cutting the tart with kitchen scissors works better than slicing with a knife. Enjoy!

x Adré