Boursin, Beet and Butternut Squash Tart

Butternut squash tart garnished with boursin cheese and microgreens.

5 from 1 vote

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.

Prep Time25

Cook Time50

Chill Time1

Total Time2 15

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings: main servings or 12 appetizers

Calories: 467kcal

Author: Carolyn Hetke

Equipment

10.5" tart or spring form pan

Ingredients

Crust

1 ¾ cups all purpose flour (219 grams)
¼ teaspoon 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
¼ teaspoon salt
6 basil leaves ( or herb of your choice (sage etc) to taste
½ 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 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

Crust

Grease your tart pan or springform pan with butter.
Whisk the 1 ¾ cups flour and ¼ teaspoon 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 tablespoon 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 tablespoon 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 ¼" 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 ¼ teaspoon 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 tablespoon 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