Autumn's Gold

 

Butternut Squash Tart

This tart has plenty of delicious flavours. 

Ingredients

 Butternut Squash cut into cubes - my squash was large - I used 1/3rd

puff pastry sheet - ready bought

(does anyone make their own these days?) 

One large chopped onion

3 crushed cloves of garlic

finely grate 2cms of fresh root ginger 

6 sliced chestnut mushrooms

two handfuls of shredded kale

a large handful of walnuts

9 dried figs cut into quarters

(I get mine from Lidl) they sell  

soft/moist dried fruit

cheese of your choice - I used vintage English cheddar

finely chopped fresh Rosemary

l tespn ground corriander

1 tespn ground cummin

1/2 tespn curry powder

nutmeg & ground black pepper

3 teaspns tahini (sesame seed paste)

Oven setting 220℃ fan for 20 - 25 mins

Gently roast onion, butternut squash & garlic in rapeseed/olive oil. Once almost cooked add mushrooms, kale & root ginger to soften. When ready add the spices and set aside to cool. Prepare the pastry, spread with a thin layer of Tahini, add the butternut mixture. Top with figs, chopped walnuts, sprinkle with Rosemary, freshly ground black pepper &  nutmeg, then add a layer of cheese.

 

Mid Winter

Both December and January have been reasonably mild for the time of year, but also rather damp, and gloomy. However, there have been some lovely sunny, blue sky days, which really do lift the spirits. During the whole of the winter so far, this corner of the world, has received just two early morning frosts - both of which completely disappeared before there was time for me to venture outside with the camera.
In the garden the snowdrops and hellebores are flowering, and happily the hours of daylight grow noticeably longer as each week passes.

In the fridge some Stilton blue cheese was still hanging around from Christmas along with a large handful of shelled walnuts. I then remembered that I had a sheet of puff pastry in the freezer so decided to make a tart. I covered the base of the pastry with some caramelised red onions which I made by gently cooking the finely chopped onions in a little olive oil, and then adding balsamic vinegar along with some sugar until it turned into a 'jam' like consistency. However, I wanted something else to add to the mix and couldn't think what else to use. Luckily inspiration came along in the form of Lorrie's blog where I saw that she had used grapes on top of her blue cheese and flat bread recipe, thank you Lorrie. 

I cooked the tart for 20mins in a fan oven at 180ᵒC - it smells delicious - can't wait to try it later.

Autumn Tart

Ingredients

Sheet of shortcrust or puff pastry
Butternut Squash
Sweet potato
Red onions
Garlic
Red pepper,
Runny honey
Pesto
Nutmeg
Cinnamon
Black pepper
Natural salt crystals

Prepare the vegetables, drizzle over some runny honey, then sprinkle with the spices, add olive or rapeseed oil and roast for about 20mins at 220℃ or until the vegetables begin to caramelise.
Allow the roasted vegetables to cool then place on to the pastry - top with some pesto, and cook for 20 more mins at 200℃.

I made some pesto but used a generous amount of cashew nuts rather than pine nuts. Pine nuts are such a ridiculous price for so few these days, and I also added much more Parmesan cheese than usual to the pesto for this tart.

Enjoy

A Feast of Figs

Lots of figs in the garden are now ripe, so along with making jars of Confit de Figues - delicious on fresh crusty bread or as an accompaniment to cheese, we can once again enjoy a tasty summer fig dish which I tried last year after seeing it on Lorrie's blog. 

Fig and Blue Cheese Tart 

I use freshly made bought sheets of puff pastry placed on grease proof paper, score around the edge and then fork the middle in preparation for the topping.

Set the oven at 220C, 450F or Gas Mark 8

Ingredients

1 sheet of puff pastry

2 red onions

4 or 5 fresh figs

English Blue Stilton cheese, 

but any blue cheese you prefer

rapeseed (canola) oil

balsamic vinegar

5 teaspns sugar

Method

slice the onions then gently cook in the oil until they are translucent. 

Add the sugar and a large tablespoon of balsamic vinegar

Keep stirring until all of the liquid is absorbed and the onions have a jam like consistency - let the mixture cool. 
Layer the onions on to the pastry, top with the sliced figs, and finish off with pieces of blue cheese on each figs.

Cook for 20mins then enjoy hot or cold.

Quick, easy and tasty

Fortunately more figs are still growing and ripening.