Butternut and Goat's Cheese Tart with Broccoli "Pastry" - #GlutenFree #Vegetarian

Butternut and Goat's Cheese Tart with Broccoli "Pastry"

#GlutenFree #Vegetarian

This is based off a Donna Hay recipe from the Saturday Times which I believe comes from her book Week Light, which I am definitely adding to my Christmas list :).

First thing I have to say is this pastry is amazing and would work with other tarts too and I fully intend to try it with others. I am dying to have a go at using it with a quiche Loraine.

This recipe makes 2 tarts - but it keeps well in the fridge and has nothing in it which means re-heating would be an issue. I suspect it will freeze well too, but haven't tried that.

One warning - this took me over an hour and a half to make. I am quite slow in the kitchen what with having to sit down all the time, so you might be faster, but I started at 4ish and finished at past 5:30. Totally worth it though, and 1 tart would easily feed 3-4 people giving a whole second meal as well.

For the Broccoli "Pastry"

• 600g/21oz broccoli florets - this is about 2 large heads of broccoli
• 90g/0.9 cup ground almonds (1 cup would be fine ;))
• 25g/0.25 cup grated parmesan type cheese - I used the pre-grated Italian hard cheese from Morrisons because it tastes the same and is vegetarian. Proper Parmesan cheese uses animal rennet and it therefore not vegetarian.
• 3 large eggs
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Filling

• 800g/28oz butternut squash - cubed - this is one largish squash
• 2 tbsp oil - whichever is your fav, I used olive
• salt and black pepper
• 8 large eggs - this is 2 eggs more than the original recipe because my pie tins are bigger
• 250g/ 1 cup ricotta
• 16-20 sage leaves or other seasoning of choice - I liked the sage, but I think I will go with my Italian herb grinder as well next time for more zing.
• 150g/5.3oz goats cheese (for me this was a whole packet which was about the size of 1.25 US sticks of butter) - I used a creamy Welsh goats cheese, which worked really well, but a more acidic one would probably work even better if you like the taste.

Instructions

1. Make sure the broccoli florets are not too large before blitzing them in a food processor until very fine. Place in a large bowl. We need to blitz in small batches or we'll get lumps - I did it in 4.
2. Add the ground almonds, parmesan substitute (or real Parmesan is you are not vegetarian) and eggs and mix well - seasoning to personal preference with salt and black pepper.
3. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
4. Line 2 23cm/9in, 3 cm high pie tins with baking paper - I made the mistake of only lining the bottom - but make sure to line the sides too or it's really hard to get out.
5. Press half the broccoli dough into each pie tin, across the bottom and up the sides. I used a firm spatula to do this and it worked really well.
6. Peel, de-seed and cube the butternut squash (the original recipe called for pumpkin, which I imagine would work really well too - but butternut was easier for me to deal with and available all year round).
7. Line a large baking sheet with baking paper and scatter the squash over it.
8. Drizzle with 1 tbsp of oil and season with salt and pepper.
9. Put the tart shells and squash in the oven and cook until the tart shells are going golden brown and the squash is tender. This took me 35min, but the original recipe said 20min. If the edges of the tart start to go too dark before the bottom cooks - cover with foil.
10. Put the ricotta and the 8 eggs in a medium bowl with salt and pepper (and any other seasoning you fancy - I am def going with some Italian herbs next time) and whisk until smooth. A hand mixer is by far the easiest, but a balloon whisk will work with some elbow grease.
11. Take the tart shells and squash from the oven and divide the squash between the two shells.
12. Put the sage leaves in a bowl and drizzle with the remaining oil, tossing to ensure coverage.
13. Pour the ricotta and egg mixture into each tart.
14. Break up the goats cheese and scatter over the top of each tart.
15. Do the same with the oiled sage leaves.
16. Put the tarts back in the oven and cook for 25-30 mins until the egg mixture is set and colouring at the edges.
17. Remove from the oven and allow to stand for a few minutes, before using the baking paper lining to help pull the tarts free from their cases.
18. If the very edges of the tart dough have gone too dark (it does catch quite easily) trim them off.
19. Serve in generous slices - would probably work well with a French dressed salad to give a little acid contrast.

Let me know if you like the colour coding. I find my eye can skip steps and miss things sometimes in recipes, so I highlighted the equipment and ingredients as they are used.