Savory Pumpkin Tart Recipes

SAVORY PUMPKIN TART

Steps:

• The night before serving, toss squash with salt in a bowl. Place a heavy weight on top, cover with plastic, and refrigerate overnight.
• To make pastry, combine flour and salt in a large bowl. With pastry cutter or fork, cut in butter until it forms coarse crumbs. Add 1 to 11/3 cups very cold water, a few tablespoons at a time, until mixture just comes together. Form dough into a ball, cover with plastic, and refrigerate overnight.
• The next day, preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease large baking sheet. Drain squash. In saucepan over medium heat, melt remaining butter. Sauté onion, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden, 7 to 10 minutes.
• On floured surface, roll out dough into a 17- by 12-inch rectangle. With long side facing you, spread squash evenly over right half of dough. Top with onion, parsley and garlic cloves; season with salt and generous grind of pepper.
• Dab edges of dough with water. Fold left half over filling and pinch edges firmly to seal. Brush crust with egg yolk. Using knife, cut slit in center of crust, pulling back edges slightly to form a 2 1/2-inch hole.
• Transfer crust to baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes; reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking until squash is fork tender and crust is well browned, 35 to 40 minutes longer. Slowly pour cream into crust vent. Let cool for at least 30 minutes before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.

SAVORY PUMPKIN BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Cook until butter is golden brown, 5-7 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in pistachios, turmeric, cumin and cayenne. Let cool. , For batter, in a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until crumbly. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in pumpkin and water. In another bowl, whisk flour and pie spice; add to butter mixture just until moistened. Fold in pistachio mixture., Transfer to 2 greased 9x5-in. loaf pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 65-70 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely., Freeze option: Securely wrap cooled loaves in foil, then freeze. To use, thaw at room temperature.

SAVORY ROASTED PUMPKIN PIE

Steps:

• For the crust, combine flour and salt in a small bowl. Using your fingers, pinch the butter (1/3 cup) into the flour and salt until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add water a little at a time until the mixture begins to clump together. Press the dough into a disc, wrap it in plastic wrap, and keep in the refrigerator as you turn your attention to the other ingredients.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Peel the pumpkins, discard the seeds and stringy innards, and cut the flesh into 1-inch cubes. Put the pumpkin on a baking sheet or in a Pyrex pan and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake at 450 degrees for 45 minutes, or until the pumpkin is tender and slightly browned.
• Meanwhile, melt the butter (2 tablespoons) with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Slice the onions and cook in the butter and olive oil, stirring frequently, for 45 minutes or until deep brown and fragrant.
• Remove the pie dough from the refrigerator and, on a floured surface, roll the dough into as thin a circle as possible. Fold the dough in half and then into quarters, transfer it to a 9-inch pie plate, and carefully unfold it. Press the dough into the pie plate and trim away excess dough from the edges.
• Remove the pumpkin from the oven and reduce the temperature to 375 degrees. Mix together the cooked pumpkin and onions, and carefully transfer this vegetable mixture into the pie crust. (You may find your pie crust overflowing with vegetables. In this case, remove some of the pumpkin-onion mixture and set it aside -- it makes a great snack or omelet filling.) Sprinkle the grated cheese on top of the vegetables.
• In a small bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, and salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste. Pour this mixture over the vegetables and cheese in the pie crust. Sprinkle the pumpkin seeds on top of the pie.
• Bake the pie at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the cheese is melted, the eggs are firm, and the top of the pie is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes before serving.

PUMPKIN TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Make the pastry dough by creaming together 12 ounces of cream cheese with 1 pound of butter and the sugar in a large bowl until thoroughly blended. Mix in the flour, a little at a time, until the dough is workable. Cut the dough into 4 equal-sized pieces, roll the pieces into balls, and refrigerate until needed.
• To make the filling, mash 12 ounces of cream cheese with brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl until smooth and well combined; beat in eggs, one at a time, incorporating each egg before adding the next one. Mix in the pumpkin, evaporated milk, and vanilla extract until the filling is smooth.
• Cut each dough ball in half, and cut each half into 12 pieces (96 total pieces). Working in batches, press each small piece of dough into the bottom and up the sides of mini muffin cups. Fill the little crusts almost to the top with the pumpkin filling. Refrigerate unused dough until you need it to make the next batch.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the filling is set and the crusts are lightly golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
• Mash 1/2 cup of butter, the shortening, and 8 ounces of cream cheese together in a bowl until thoroughly combined, and mix in the confectioners' sugar and marshmallow creme until smooth and creamy. Spread or pipe the frosting onto the cooled tarts. Sprinkle each tart with a few chopped pecans. Refrigerate until serving.