This butternut squash, caramelized onion and feta tart is a cozy Autumn or Winter meal, perfect served with a green salad. The onions, squash and pastry can all be prepped in advance if you like, so that the actual tart comes together pretty quickly. Especially if you have done a bit of advance prep, it’s a totally manageable weekday dinner. But it’s nice enough to serve as a vegetarian main for a dinner party and feel a little bit fancy. It’s hearty and a bit indulgent, but vegetable-y so it’s not over the top. It’s also great for leftovers. I sometimes eat it with a piece of fruit for breakfast, and then with a salad or some raw vegetables for lunch and dinner for a couple days. I would recommend heating leftovers in the oven rather than the microwave, which will cause a little pastry sog.
Feel free to use store bought puff pastry if you don’t feel like making it from scratch. You can also swap in another winter squash, a small pumpkin or kabocha squash would be great so pick whatever is looking good or on sale. You could swap the feta for goat cheese or another cheese you like as well, it’s a highly adaptable tart. I think sprinkling some toasted pine nuts over the top before you add the lattice top would be incredible as well.
butternut, feta & caramelized onion tart
2 large yellow onions
1 cup cubed feta cheese
1 pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed (about 3 cups of cubes)
2 cloves garlic, peeled
¼ cup olive oil, divided
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
¼ tsp onion powder
¼ tsp smoked paprika
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
1.2 tsp salt
½ recipe rough puff pastry dough
1 egg
1 tbs cream or milk
Peel and thinly slice onions. Cook in 2 tbs olive oil in a large frying pan over low heat, for about an hour, or until deeply golden brown, greatly reduced in volume and jammy. Set aside to cool. This can be done a day in advance, store onions in an airtight container in the fridge.
Heat oven to 400°F. Peel, seed and chop the butternut squash into ½” cubes. Toss with peeled garlic, spices, salt and olive oil. Roast the squash until fragrant and browning around the edges, about 25-30 minutes.
Let the squash cool. Lightly scramble an egg, set aside two teaspoons for sealing the pastry. Take a spoonful of squash cubes, and smash lightly with a fork. Mix with egg and cream and toss together with remaining squash cubes and feta.
Roll out puff pastry into a large rectangle about 11” x 8”. Trim off a thin section, about 2” by 8” and set aside - this will be the lattice top. Spread the onions evenly over the larger piece of puff pastry, leaving a 1” border all the way around. Then add the butternut feta mixture over the onions.
Using a lattice cutter, cut the smaller piece of pastry into a lattice. Gently stretch the lattice out and drape over the centre of the tart. Alternatively, cut into thin strips and form them into a woven top. You could also leave this tart open if you prefer.
Mix reserved 2 tps egg with a teaspoon of water. Brush egg mixture along the pastry border and fold the sides in towards the centre of the tart. Using a fork, press firmly along the border to seal the edges tightly.
Bake the tart on a baking sheet for about 25 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and crispy. Let the tart stand for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
rough puff pastry
1 1/4 cups cold butter
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
a big pinch of salt
2/3 cup cold water
Chop one cup of butter into small cubes. Put them in the freezer.
In a food processor, combine 1/4 cup butter, 2 cups flour and salt. Pulse until combined evenly.
Add cold butter cubes and pulse twice very quickly. The butter will be in large chunks and not incorporated. Add about half the water and pulse very quickly again. Add more water if the mixture is still very dry. The dough will not come together or form a ball.
Dump the contents of the food processor onto a work surface and roughly squish together. Optionally, do this over a large sheet of plastic wrap, this will keep your counter cleaner and you can use the plastic wrap to help with squishes and folds. Roll or press dough out into a rectangle, dusting with flour as needed to prevent sticking. It will be crumbly and uncooperative at first, don't worry. Fold the short edges of the rectangle into the centre so they overlap. Roll out again into a rectangle and repeat this folding (check out this helpful video to see how). Wrap the dough tightly in cling wrap and chill, ideally overnight before using.
Note: this recipe make twice as much as you will need for one pie. Wrap extra tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for another use.
