These savory tartlets are made with puréed butternut squash, bacon, caramelized onions, and fresh herbs. They have all the taste of fall in a flaky puff pastry crust. Serve them as an elegant side dish or serve them with a hearty salad as a main dish.
- Prep Time:
60 mins - Cook Time:
30 mins - Total Time:
1 hr 30 mins
Before you dismiss this recipe as being too complicated and time consuming, let me just say that these butternut squash tartlets are a little easier than you may think. Using frozen puff pastry dough and frozen butternut squash cubes cuts down on some of the prep time.
Store bought frozen puff pastry dough is one of my favorite cooking short-cuts. It lets you make amazing tarts with less effort. I always keep a package in my freezer and use it for recipes like my spinach tart or tomato and goat cheese tart.
The other time saver in this recipe is using microwaveable steam-in-the-bag butternut squash cubes. As much as I love roasting winter squash, I hate prepping it. Peeling the hard skins of butternut squash is not something I enjoy doing. Using the frozen already peeled and cut squash cubes is much easier.
Ideas for using leftover puff pastry
If you peek at the recipe below, you’ll notice that you will end up with an odd half sheet of puff pastry. Want some ideas on how to use it up?
For something savory, I suggest wrapping the puff pastry around a small wedge of Brie. Use an egg wash to seal the edges and to brush on the puff pastry to help it brown. Then bake it at 400 degrees F in a pie or cake pan for 20-25 minutes or until golden. Serve it with apple slices or crackers for a melty, cheesy snack.
If you’re in the mood for something sweet, cut the puff pastry into rectangles. Place a small piece of good quality chocolate on one side of each rectangle. Brush a small amount of egg wash on the edges then fold the puff pastry rectangles in half pressing to seal the edges. Then brush the tops with egg wash and sprinkle with some sugar. Bake at 400 degrees F on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet for 15 minutes or until golden.
Now you’ve got dinner and dessert done. How easy was that?
Butternut Squash Tart with Bacon, Caramelized Onions, and Herbs
- Prep Time: 60 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These savory tartlets are made with puréed butternut squash, bacon, caramelized onions, and fresh herbs. They have all the taste of fall in a flaky puff pastry crust. Serve them as an elegant side dish or serve them with a hearty salad as a main dish.
Ingredients
- 2 sheets (10″ x 10″) puff pastry dough, thawed (see Note 1)
- 3 strips thick-cut bacon, diced
- 1 small onion, diced (about 1 cup)
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh sage leaves
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
- 2 (10 ounce) packages frozen steam-in-bag butternut squash cubes (see Note 2)
- 1 whole large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/3 cup whole milk
- 3/4 cup grated Gruyere cheese
- 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Prep pans. Spray 6 (4-1/4 inch) tartlet pans with cooking spray.
- Prep puff pastry. Cut one sheet of puff pastry dough into quarters to make 4 pieces that are 5″ x 5″. Cut two more 5″ x 5″ squares from the second sheet of puff pastry. Reserve remaining half sheet of puff pastry for another use.
- Press puff pastry into pans. Transfer the puff pastry squares to the prepared tartlet pans. Ease puff pastry into the pans and pat lightly into the bottoms and up the sides of the pans (it does not need to fit in tightly). Trim excess puff pastry with kitchen shears and use scraps to patch areas where the puff pastry does not reach the top of the pans. Place tartlet pans on rimmed baking sheet and refrigerate while preparing the filling.
- Prep oven. Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Cook bacon. In a cast iron skillet, cook diced bacon over medium high heat until lightly browned and crispy. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat from the pan.
- Cook aromatics. Add onions to the pan and cook covered over medium-low heat until onions begin to soften, stirring occasionally, 2-3 minutes. Uncover pan and continue cooking onions until they have browned, 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in sage, thyme, and cooked bacon. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Set aside.
- Prep butternut squash. While onions are browning, microwave the butternut squash according to package directions. When bags are cool enough to handle, carefully transfer the butternut squash cubes to the bowl of a food processor using a slotted spoon, leaving any excess water in the bags. Purée until smooth.
- Make filling. In a large bowl, whisk together squash purée, whole egg, egg yolk, and milk. Reserve about 5 tablespoons of the bacon mixture for sprinkling on top of the tartlets. Stir the remaining bacon mixture into the squash mixture along with the Gruyere cheese, Parmesan, salt, and pepper to taste.
- Pour filling into pans. Using a measuring cup or ladle, pour filling into prepared tartlet pans dividing evenly among the pans. Sprinkle reserved bacon mixture on top of tartlets.
- Bake. Bake tartlets for 25-35 minutes, or until filling is set and puffed up and puff pastry is browned. Cool tartlets in pans on rack 10 minutes then carefully remove pan sides from tartlets.
Notes
- I use puff pastry sheets from Pepperidge Farm which comes in sheets that are 10×10 inches square. If you use a different brand, you might need to adjust how you cut the puff pastry to fit them into your tartlet pans.
- I use frozen steam in bag butternut squash from Earthbound Farm. Whatever brand you buy, make sure to look at the ingredient list and check that it only contains squash. You can also roast your own squash and make the purée yourself. You will need about 2 cups of squash purée.
Originally published .
Heidi says
I don’t have tartlet pans but I do have a regular tart pan. Could this be modified to make 1 tart?
Taming of the Spoon says
Yes, I think you could make this work in one large tart pan. The tricky part will be getting the puff pastry fitted into the pan so that there are no cracks in the crust. You’ll also need to increase the baking time (maybe an extra 20-30 minutes). Let us know how it turns out for you.