Roast Pumpkin and Thyme Tart with Pickled Beetroot Flavour Pearls

Roast Pumpkin and Thyme Tart with Pickled Beetroot Flavour Pearls is a delightfully simple recipe and oh so delicious. Ideal for an easy lunch with salad and maybe something sweet to follow. We even used a quality bought pastry to keep it simple! The earthy yet sour Pickled Beetroot Flavour Pearls liven up the palate perfectly. We added Goats Cheese to our Tart but feel free to substitute for another soft Cheese – Blue, Fetta or Brie style would all be delish. This Tart is most delicious when its room temperature or warm. You can definitely pre-bake the day prior and warm it up.

What you’ll need

• Pumpkin – aprox 750g – just buy what looks the nicest
• Olive oil
• Salt & Pepper
• Careme – Sour Cream Short Crust Pastry – Savoury
• Leeks – 2, white part only (Onions are fine if Leek unavailable) wash and slice
• Garlic – 1 clove crushed (or not)
• Thyme – fresh or dried is fine
• Butter – 1 generous teaspoon
• Soft Cheese – around 100g – Goats, Blue, Brie, Fetta
• Egg yolk mix with a dash of water to glaze
• Pickled Beetroot Flavour Pearls 

To do

Pre heat oven to 180c. If you wish to make pastry rather than purchase I found a nice Rough Puff Pastry recipe which will do the trick nicely. Make this first so it has time to rest before using.

Remove the skin and slice the Pumpkin – aproximately 1/2 to 1cm thickness. Drizzle with Olive Oil and season well, bake (line tray with Baking Paper to reduce cleaning and sticking!) until slightly coloured and just tender. 20 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool. 

While the Pumpkin is baking lets cook the Leeks. Pop a saucepan or pan on the stove, medium heat. Add the Butter and a dash of Olive Oil, Garlic, Leek and 1/2 teaspoon of thyme or a few good sprigs (pick the stalks out later). Season well and cook until they are nice and tender, with or without colour is fine. Allow to cool.

Next

Line a Baking Tray with Paper. Slightly defrost your Pastry. If using home-made Pastry roll it out to aprox 5mm on a floured bench around 2cm larger than you want the tart to be. Round or square is fine. I selected the size by how big my serving platter was as well as the width of the roll of bought Pastry to avoid any waste (I still have half the packet left after making this)

Place your Pastry onto the tray. Spread the cooled Leek mixture on, leaving a 1- 2cm border clear. Top with cooked Pumpkin slices. Fold the uncovered edges up and over the filling a little. Brush the edges with Yolk mix. Into the Oven now for a good 20 or so minutues until the Pastry is golden and cooked.

To serve

Using a lifter move your gorgeous Pastry to a platter. Dot the top with blobs/slices or chunks of your chosen Cheese. Add a sprinkle of Thyme, Salt & Pepper. Drain your Pickled Beetroot Flavour Pearls and add them just before serving. Mmmm…yum! It’s a nice dish to serve at the table as it looks so pretty. 

Until next time

From the Peninsula Larder Team

“There will always be ladies who lunch. Always. And apparently they live a long time.”

 – Elaine Stritch