Winter Squash Tart

Is it a tart? Quiche? Pie?

There is no combination quite like that of sweet and tender caramelized onions, aromatic sage, nutty browned butter, and (well, at least this cucurbitaceae) golden sweet pumpkin.

My favorite dish of all time (pre-gluten-free days) is a variation on this – smooth butternut puree mixed with sweet crumbs of amaretti cookies, wrapped up in little handkerchiefs and then served atop thin slices of salty prosciutto, garnished with chunks of toasted hazelnuts, and a healthy drizzle of browned butter.

I was craving these cappellacci con zucca the other day, but had to turn to my gluten-free sweet potato gnocchi from Agata and Valentina, tossed in a browned butter sauce, garnished with crispy sage leaves – and of course, that prosciutto.

‘Twas not sufficient. That squash and sage hankering came back with a vengeance. Luckily I was armed with a rather large Rouge Vif De’Temps (in my book, the best cucurbitaceae member out there) with the most brilliant orange flesh that tasted most sublimely sweet, like sugar.

Initially, I panicked. What to do?

I’d already said no to sweets – can’t fuel that fire. This has got to serve as a meal. 

No risotto – have had enough of that over the past 9 weeks.

Muffins? Cake? Bread? Oh wait, I’m a glutard… and don’t have freezer space like I used to.

Soup? Don’t forget about the soup you've got in the freezer already, remember? (And then there is this soup... and pasta...)

Then those handkerchiefs floated back into my head. Must. Have. Now. But rather than pasta, can I create that combination of flavors in a savory tart?

This is less eggy than a quiche, heartier than those delicate tarts I love from Once Upon a Tart in NYC. Consider it a savory pie, good enough for lunch or dinner, but with a creamy filling, it’s surely satisfying enough to stand in for it’s sweeter sibling.

Armed with two basic tart recipes as research, and my no-fail tart shell favorite from Alice Waters, I set off to work late Friday afternoon (armed with a bottle of wine, of course). While my tart shell was a failure*, the pie itself was a huge success.

Winter Squash Tart (Pie)

Tart Dough
1 cup all-purpose flour, gluten-free if necessary
6 tablespoons very cold butter (I like Organic Valley’s Pasture Butter)
Salt, if desired
Herbes de Provence, as desired
Water, if necessary (Start with a dribble)

Click here for instructions – this is the same dough I used for a caramelized onion-black olive galette. Line a 9-inch pie pan with the dough and blind bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Tart Filling
1 large onion, thinly sliced
Olive oil, for cooking
2-2 1/2 cups pumpkin puree, still warm, from a roasted pumpkin
1 cup heavy cream (I like Robie Farm’s Raw Heavy Cream)
1/3 cup sage leaves, fine chiffonade
3 eggs, beaten well
Salt, to taste

In a large sauté pan, heat oil and cook onions until browned and meltingly tender. Set aside.

While onions cook, remove flesh from cooked pumpkin and let cool. Meanwhile, combine heavy cream and sage in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and let steep.

Once cool, combine the pumpkin with the eggs and mix well. Add in the cream and sage leaves, then season to taste.

Top the blind baked tart shell with the caramelized onions. Pour over the pumpkin mixture. Set the pie plate atop a baking sheet in case the filling drips. Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour, or until the filling is just set in the middle.

Let sit for 10-15 minutes, and then serve with a side salad topped with salty prosciutto crisps. Then refrigerate your leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day.

*(I’d experimented with King Arthur Flour’s gluten-free all-purpose blend, which has no cornstarch or other allergens for me. It works for pancakes and such, but the crust seemed to melt into a puddle rather than brown. Never fear, because the filling set nicely once baked, but this is a mystery I’ll have to experiment with this winter.)

Dried Cherry- and Sausage-Stuffed Acorn Squash

Winter squash can be intimidating. There are a number of varieties, all sorts of shapes, sizes, and colors. does one cut it, or peel it? And what on earth is that gunk that butternut squash leave on your hands post-peeling - the sap that makes your skin peel off? Almost makes me not want to battle these wonderful winter starches. But they're really worth it...

There are a number of ways to prepare winter squashes. Slice it in half, scoop out the seeds, and cost the halves for a puree with a touch of caramelized depth. Or cube up the pieces and throw it in the steamer for a lighter puree. I love these tips, or will often peel, cube, and roast the vegetable-du-jour it until each piece is crispy in the corner, tender inside, and with a rich caramelized color all around. Delicious. But even then, after a couple of times of making this (I've used it in pasta, risotto, omelettes, salads, and more), it can get monotonous.

For someone gluten- and corn-free like me, finding healthy carbohydrates to satisfy my hankering can be a challenge. Squash saves the day, so I'm always thinking of new ways to serve up this starch (My vegetables aren't vegetables unless they're green!)

Stuffed squash is one of my new favorite go-tos. Start with some sausage, or for vegetarians, a base of brown rice. Supplement with sweeteners (honey or maple syrup) and spices as you wish, then add a variety of flavorings from cherries and pine nuts to something exotic, like pineapple, coconut, and chopped macadamia nuts. You can even try greens — kale, miso, and a garnish of scallion sounds delicious, doesn’t it?


Dried Cherry and Sausage-Stuffed Acorn Squash

2 acorn squash, sliced in half and seeds scooped out
4 tablespoons olive oil, for brushing, plus more for sautéing
4 tablespoons maple syrup, for brushing
Salt, to taste
2 large yellow onions, finely diced
6 turkey sausage links, removed from casings
1/3 cup dried cherries
1/3 cup pinenuts, toasted

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Trim off the bottom of each squash half so each sits flat. Brush with olive oil and maple syrup. Season with salt and bake for about 1 hour, or until the flesh is tender when pierced with a fork.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over high heat. Add the onions and turn the heat to medium high. Cook for about 10 minutes or until onions are golden and translucent. Season with a pinch of salt and add the turkey sausage. Cook about 10 minutes, or until the meat is cooked most of the way through. Add the cherries and remove from heat. Set aside.

Once the squash is tender, fill each with stuffing. Bake for about 10 minutes, until everything is warmed through. Garnish with pinenuts and serve immediately.

Serves: 4