#SamLikesItHot: Pumpkin and walnut tart

MANILA, Philippines – I’ve been trying really hard to think outside of the soup bowl for this month’s pumpkin extravaganza, and I was delighted to find this pumpkin and walnut tart recipe on Seattle Times while searching for inspiration. 

I adore making a tart or pie from scratch. Not only is there something therapeutic and deeply satisfying [“I made that!”] about kneading and rolling out dough, but it’s easier than you probably think and yields delicious results!

Then there’s the matter of filling the tart shell. A tart shell full of delicious possibilities. This particular recipe reminded me of the first thing I made when I purchased a rolling pin which was something of a culinary turning point for me and it brought back fond memories.

If you’ve never made a tart from scratch, I really hope you give it a try.

We start by making a tart dough, the recipe of which is also provided in the tart recipe, by using:

• 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ t salt
• ½ cup cold butter, cut into cubes and chilled in the freezer for about 20 minutes
• About 4 T cold water

1. Add flour and salt to a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Add cold cubed butter into the bowl and break with a pastry cutter until they are roughly the size of peas. The idea here is to break up the butter before it melts.

2. Put some ice cubes into a bowl and add about a cup of water. Add this cold water into the bowl, a tablespoon at a time, while mixing everything with your hands until a dough starts to form. If you find that you need more than 4 tablespoons, that’s completely fine. Just feel this out for yourself. If it turns out a little too wet, it can always be remedied with more flour.

3. Lay out a large sheet of plastic wrap and transfer the dough. Press down to form a disc, cover tightly and store in the fridge to rest for at least an hour.

While the dough rests, we can get started with the tart filling, for which you’ll need:

• A hunk of pumpkin, about 1 ½ lbs
• 1 T butter at room temperature
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• ½ cup walnuts
• About 6 strips bacon or as desired [I don’t know about you but I always end up cooking the entire pack and eating some of it!]
• 1 small onion
• 1 large apple
• 2 eggs
• 2 T cream
• About 1 cup goat cheese

1. Preheat your oven to 175 C/350 F. Peel the pumpkin, get rid of the stringy stuff and slice into uniform wedges. Apply the butter onto the pumpkin wedges by rubbing, and season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Pop this in the oven and roast until they are easily pierced with a fork. Mine took about 20 minutes, but this will depend on how big your wedges are.

2. While the pumpkin is roasting, we can work on the other elements of the filling starting with the delectable meat candy that is bacon. I’m hazy on how many strips went into my tart exactly because I was munching while scissoring them into my tart. Happens all the time!

Get a large pan going on medium heat. Lay out the bacon strips and cook until the fat starts to render and they cook to a crisp. Set aside when done and discard all but about 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat. Add chopped onion and cook until it starts to caramelize. Add chopped apple and cook some more, about a minute. Set aside.

3. Is your pumpkin done now? If it is, set aside to cool. Keep the oven going to roast the walnut for 10 minutes. I was pretty horrified when my walnuts came out of the oven because it looked like I had burned them. But I tried them and found them to be intensely smoky and nutty, not at all bad! Set this aside as well.

4. When your dough hits the 1-hour resting mark, retrieve it from the fridge and take it to a well-floured surface. The dough should be rolled out big enough for a 9-inch tart pan.

5. Take the rolled out dough to the tart pan. Folding it into quarters like so makes for easy transport with no tearing. Unfold and press down, tearing off excess.

Keep this in the fridge while finishing the filling. Turn up the oven to 190 C/375 F.

6. Roughly chop the roasted pumpkin and add to a big bowl. Also add the apple and onion mixture and roasted walnuts into the said bowl. Scissor in whatever bacon strips you managed not to eat. Taste and adjust seasoning.

7. Whisk the eggs and cream in a bowl. Add this to the filling mixture and mix gently but thoroughly. Retrieve your tart pan from the fridge and fill the tart shell with the pumpkin filling. Dot with dollops of goat cheese and bake in the oven for 40 minutes. Afterwards, set aside for 10 minutes, then serve.

Unbearable beauty. Ouch. I think this is the sensation of my heart eating itself out of excitement.

I served mine with a simple salad dressed with a herbed balsamic vinaigrette — a pleasant tangy contrast to this tart.

Although this tart is described as savory, it’s really more savory-sweet. The roasted pumpkin as well as the lightly caramelized onions and apples are mildly sweet, the bacon is salty, the walnuts are smoky and nutty, and the crust and goat cheese are rich. It is a fantastic melding of flavors!

How I think of pumpkin has been slowly changing this month but this took it to the next level. I’ve enjoyed it all and we aren’t quite done yet, but if you must pick just one to try, I think this should be it. Pumpkin, you are glorious! – Rappler.com

 

Check out our other recipes:

• #SamLikesItHot: The Bomb-kin
• #SamLikesItHot: Pumpkin and sausage lasagna
• #SamLikesItHot: Choco-hazelnut cupcakes with Horlicks mud
• #SamLikesItHot: Seafood laksa
• #SamLikesItHot: Adobo flakes

Sam Oh is a professional TV and events host, radio jock and foodie. Catch her on radio at First Thing In The Morning with Sam and Gibb on Magic 89.9, Monday to Thursday, 6am to 9am. She is also a food blogger. If you have questions or recipe requests, email desk@rappler.com with subject heading SAM LIKES IT HOT.