This Boursin, Beet and Butternut Squash Tart is elegant and delicious!
It starts with a butter pastry shell that you whip up in your food processor and press in to your pan. Slather that with your favourite flavour of Boursin cheese or Ricotta, top it with thin slices of butternut squash and beets and bake. When it is warm out of the oven top it with more dabs of Boursin and some microgreens for garnish and voilà – an elegant luncheon main, an appetizer or a side to a larger meal.
My friend made this as an appetizer and I was sold! Mine is a streamlined version of the tart from LCBO’s Food and Drink magazine. Theirs had fried Basil and burrata so it was a bit more work and cost a LOT more! (Man… burrata must be worth its weight in gold!!).
Chef’s Tips for Boursin Tart
- A classic tart pan with its low edge and removable base works best, a springform pans is next best. Failing any special tart pans, you can use a 9 X 13″ baking pan but you may have to serve it from the pan.
- You can use cream cheese or ricotta for the base of the tart if you like. Boursin on the top gives you a flavour hit that I wouldn’t want to miss out on though!
- There are so many flavours of Boursin you could use to switch this up. I used Fine Herbs which was delicious but there was a White Truffle and Pepper one at Christmas that I wish I had been able to use. So… I have lots to look forward to to make this again in future. The Cranberry Boursin would also be delicious with the squash … think Thanksgiving or fall!
- The recipe uses basil to flavour the cheese base but you could switch that up too. Sage would be great with the squash. Dill and beet are a thing too.
- The recipe uses fresh squash and beets. So it is imperative that you cut the slices very thin. Beets seem to take forever to cook in my general experience. The recipe says to microwave them on separate plates for about 3 minutes. Don’t skip this step.
- You could use canned beets (well drained) or leftover cooked beets if you like. Skip the microwave step in that case.
- For the garnish – I had fresh microgreen waving their little heads at me so I couldn’t resist adding their spicy little notes to the top. You could use more basil or the herb you are using in the base cheese. Don’t sweat it if you don’t have greens for thte garnish – it is still delicious!
- Leftover tart keeps well in the fridge for a day or so. Reheat gently and regarnish the greens if using. The Boursin topping will melt during the reheat so you can just go with it as is or if you have more.. feel free to add a few more dabs.
Wine Pairing for Boursin, Beet and Butternut Squash Tart
This is a very versatile dish. A Sauvignon Blanc would go well with the savoury herbs but a light Muscadet Sèvre et Maine would go well too. A Chardonnay or Chenin Blanc would also work.
A light red, not very tannic would go well. Think Rhone GSM blend, a Beaujolais. A Right Bank (Merlot based) Bordeaux would also work well.
Boursin, Beet and Butternut Squash Tart
This is delicious with a buttery pastry crust and a creamy, herbed filling topped with sweet beets, butternut squash and more herbs and cheese. A great lunch main or a distinctive side dish.
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Servings: 6 main servings or 12 appetizers
Equipment
- 10.5" tart or spring form pan
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour (219 grams)
- 1/4 tsp salt (1.5 grams)
- 9 Tbsps butter (123 grams) cold, in cubes
- 4-5 Tbsps water (60-75 mL)
- 1 Tbsps lemon juice (15 mL)
Tart Filling
- 100 grams Boursin cheese, Fine Herbs recommended can substitute 125 g cream cheese, room temrperature or 125 grams ricotta See Note 1 below if not using Boursin in filling.
- 1 egg
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 6 basil leaves ( or herb of your choice (sage etc) to taste
- 1/2 small butternut squash neck end that makes solid rounds
- 3 small beets
- 3 Tbsps olive oil
Garnish
- chopped basil or microgreen can use herb used in filling
- 25 grams Boursin cheese
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
Instructions
Crust
- Grease your tart pan or springform pan with butter.
- Whisk the 1 3/4 cups flour and 1/4 tsp of salt in food processor. Add the 9 Tbsps of butter and whisk until texture is that of coarse crumbs. Add 4 Tbsps of the water, one Tbsp at a time, pulsing after each addition. Add the 1Tbsp of lemon juice and pulse. If dough is not clumping together, continue whisking on low and add the remaining 1 Tbsp of water. Whisk until dough comes together.
- Transfer dough to you baking pan. Gather it into a ball in the center of your pan. Pat it into a low round disk and with your hands or back of a large spoon, press the dough evenly out to the outer edges of your pan. The side will only be a 1/4" or so up the side of the pan.
- Cover air tight and freeze until crust is firm, at least one hour, overnight or up to 3 months.
Tart
- Just before ready to bake the tart, preheat oven to 350°.
- Whisk the 100 grams Boursin (or whichever cheese you are using for the filling) and the 1 egg in the food processor. Add the 1/4 tsp salt and whisk til evenly mixed. If you are adding herbs to the filling per Note 1, add now.
- Peel and trim the beets. Cut the neck off the butternut squash, peel and trim the end. Use a mandolin or very sharp knife to slice thin rounds of the beets and squash. Slices should be paper thin.
- Transfer slices of squash and beets to separate plates. Drizzle each plate with 1 Tbsp olive oil. Microwave the squash and beet slices for 3 minutes on high. They should be just starting to soften.
- Remove frozen tart shell from freezer. Pour the cheese filling in to tart shell. Be careful not to overflow the top edge of the shell. Place 2 circles of squash around the outer edge of the tart shell, overlapping slices slightly. Make 1 circle of beets, overlapping slightly. Continue making 2 circles of squash and 1 circle of beets until you reach the center.
- Drizzle remaining 1 Tbsps olive oil over the top of the vegetables. Bake in the center of the oven for 45 minutes.
Garnish
- Remove tart from oven, spread dabs of Boursin evenly around the top of the tart, sprinkle the microgreens and drizzle the olive oil evenly over the tart.
- Serve immediately.
- Leftovers keep well in the fridge for a couple of days. Reheat gently in the oven.
Notes
Noe 1: If you are using flavoured Boursin cheese in the filling you don’t need to add herbs to the filling. If using plain cream cheese or ricotta, blend 6 basil or 3 sage leaves to the filling. Or herb flavour of your choice to taste.
Nutrition
Calories: 467kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 83mg | Sodium: 424mg | Potassium: 426mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 7366IU | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 112mg | Iron: 3mg
