First posted: Feb 20, 2012
Rustic Butternut and Gorgonzola Tart with Pine Nuts
Lazy weekend food doesn’t have to be laborious. And one of my favorite quick-fix blank canvases in the kitchen is good old puff pastry. It’s a generous host to all manner of ingredients, undeniably delicious, and pretty much idiot-proof. My chosen toppings this weekend, when we had our friends Pete and Meg (and almost, until they caved at the last minute, their lovable but apparently mad-ish dog Phoebe who we think our baby Sophie would have loved to meet) around for a relaxed lunch, were butternut, gorgonzola, caramelized onions and a simple but unmissable scattering of pine nuts that adds a certain je ne sais quoi. The makings of a veritable party in your mouth. Oh, AND this recipe is meat-free, in keeping with the brilliant global trend that you can read more about here.
Ingredients
Cooks in: Serves:4 (light lunch) or 6 (snack)
- 1 roll ready-made puff pastry, thawed (takes about 1 hour when the weather is very warm)
- 1`medium-sized butternut, peeled, de-seeded and cut into thin slices
- 1 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 medium-sized onions (I prefer red), roughly chopped
- Spray n Cook or 1 Tbsp butter, for greasing the tray
- 1 Tbsp flour, for dusting the tray
- About 200g Gorgonzola cheese (or goats cheese, blue cheese, whatever you prefer)
- Salt and pepper for seasoning
- 2 Tbsp pine nuts
What to do
1. Pre-heat oven to 180C. In a microwave-proof dish, microwave the butternut on high for about 8 minutes, until soft. 2. Meanwhile, in a large frying pan on med-high heat, add the butter and olive oil. When hot add the onions and sugar and fry gently for 10 minutes until lightly golden. 3. While the onions and butternut cook, grease and lightly flour your baking tray and lay the puff pastry on the floured surface. Make a 1cm border around the pastry base with a fork, and then also make several fork stabs over the surface of the tart (to stop it puffing up in the middle) - see pics. 4. When the onions are cooked, remove from the stove, add in the cooked butternut, toss gently and then top the pastry with the crumbled cheese, onions and butternut and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the pastry is golden and fluffy around the edges. About 5 minutes before you take it out, scatter over the pine nuts. * Serve with a green salad and/or slivers of seared beef or roast chicken.
Share this recipe
Picnics
Snacks and Sides
SummerComments
