Today, for Meatless Monday, I am excited to reshare a recipe for a Butternut Squash and Beet Tart with you. David tried to rename it “BeetNut Tart”, but I figured that might scare off some folks.
This unique tart begins with a flaky puff pastry crust smeared with a thick layer of creamy homemade ricotta cheese. The crust topped with roasted beets and butternut squash tossed with tangy feta cheese and crunchy nuts, all piled high on top of a bed of green leafy spinach.
As if that wasn’t enough to feast on, just before serving, this butternut squash, and beet tart is drizzled with a balsamic maple-cinnamon dressing that makes it sing!
When I made this recipe a few weeks ago, we served it to a neighbor who had never tried beets before. He couldn’t stop talking about this tart, so I’m pretty sure he liked it.
Here, let me show you how I made it…
How To Make Butternut Squash and Beet Tart:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Cut off the ends of each butternut squash and discard. Peel the squash and cut in half lengthwise. Using a spoon, remove the seeds. Cut the squash into ½-inch to ¼-inch cubes, as uniform as possible and place them on a baking sheet.
Cut the ends off the beets and peel with a veggie peeler, then cut them into ½-inch to ¼-inch cubes. Try to cut them about the same size as the squash so they will cook evenly.
Pour olive oil over the beets and squash. Toss and spread out in a single layer on the baking sheet.
Place the sheet pan into the oven for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, turn the beets and squash with a spatula to be sure it browns evenly and bake for 10 more minutes. After the second 10 minute interval, the beets and squash should be fork tender, but not mushy.
Roll out the sheet of pastry dough on a lightly floured surface to about 10 x 16 inches (As long as it fits your pan, size is not important).
Transfer pastry to the baking sheet. Using a knife, gently score a 1-inch border around the edge of the dough.
Spread ricotta evenly on the pastry, leaving the 1-inch border around the edge.
Make sure the spinach leaves are dry. Blot the leaves with paper towels as needed. Place the spinach leaves over the ricotta cheese, until the ricotta cheese is completely covered. Add the beets and squash on top of the spinach.
Next, add chopped pecans and feta.
Fold the 1-inch edge of pastry dough up over the edges of the beet and squash mixture.
Brush the puff pastry with egg wash.
Place into the oven and bake at 400 degrees for about 20 to 30 minutes, until the crust of the pastry is golden brown.
While the tart is baking, prepare the dressing.
Make The Balsamic Maple Cinnamon Dressing:
Put all the ingredients into a glass jar or bottle (you could also whisk together in a small bowl). Seal and shake well to mix. Shake well before using.
When the tart has cooled slightly, slice and serve with a drizzle of dressing.
Note: Slicing is made easier with a pizza cutter.
David nor I had ever had butternut squash until about 6 years ago when I made pan-roasted butternut squash for the first time. It’s one of those fruits you treat like a vegetable and make it taste savory. We fell in love with it.
As for the beets, they are as sweet as candy when roasted. Both the beets and butternut squash complement each other in this dish.
I hope this unique and delicious tart makes it to your table this Thanksgiving for everyone to enjoy!
Do you know how to peel and cut butternut squash?
Cutting into one of these things can be quite a chore! CLICK HERE to learn the how-to cut butternut squash easily.
Butternut Squash and Beet Tart
Ingredients
The Tart
- 3 cups butternut squash peeled and cubed (1 medium-sized)
- 3 cups beets peeled cubed (3 medium-sized)
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- 14 ounce sheet puff pastry defrosted
- ½ cup ricotta cheese
- 9 ounces fresh spinach
- ¼ cup pecans or walnuts, roughly chopped
- ½ cup feta cheese
- egg wash 1 egg + 2 tablespoons of water slightly beaten
Balsamic Maple Cinnamon Dressing
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 6 teaspoons pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
Balsamic Maple Cinnamon Dressing
- Put all the ingredients into a glass jar (you could also whisk together in a small bowl). Seal and shake well to mix. Shake well before using.
The Tart
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Cut off the ends of each butternut squash and discard. Peel the squash and cut in half lengthwise. Using a spoon, remove the seeds. Cut the squash into ½-inch to ¼-inch cubes, as uniform as possible and place them on a baking sheet.
- Cut the ends off the beets and peel with a veggie peeler. Cut into ½-inch to ¼-inch cubes. Try to cut them about the same size as the squash so they will cook evenly. Pour olive oil over the beets and squash. Toss and spread out in a single layer on the baking sheet. Place the sheet pan into the oven for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, turn the beets and squash with a spatula to be sure it browns evenly and bake for 10 more minutes. After the second 10 minute interval, the beets and squash should be fork tender, but not mushy.
- Roll out the sheet of pastry dough on a lightly floured surface to about 10 x 16 inches (As long as it fits your pan, size is not important). Transfer pastry to the baking sheet. Using a knife, gently score a 1 inch border around the edge of the dough.
- Spread ricotta evenly on pastry, leaving the 1-inch border around the edge.
- Make sure the spinach leaves are dry, blot with paper towels if needed, then place individual leaves of spinach onto the ricotta, until there is no ricotta cheese exposed.
- Add the beets and squash on top of the spinach.
- Next, add chopped nuts and feta.
- Fold the 1-inch edge of pastry dough up over the edges of the beet and squash mixture.
- Brush with egg wash.
- Place into the oven and bake at 400 degrees for about 20 to 30 minutes, until the crust of the pastry is golden brown.
- When the tart has cooled slightly, slice and serve with a drizzle of dressing.
Nutrition
Original post from October 13, 2014.
"Cheffie Cooks" says
I like David’s name for this! Bet it was good nice combinations! Cheryl
Debbie Spivey says
Thanks Cheryl. I will tell him. It was really good! 🙂
Sarah 'n Spice says
This looks absolutely amazing! What a great idea 🙂
Debbie Spivey says
Thanks Sarah. It turned about better than I expected. The dressing really brought it all together!
sophisticatedjerseygirl says
I just spent the whole first paragraph wondering what on earth a beetnut could be, as if it were its own vegetable. Love the name! Looks delicious! On my list to try 🙂
Debbie Spivey says
Lol!! Too funny!! It is really good. A lot more savory than you may think. 🙂
Amanda says
What a beautiful tart! I love this. So perfectly seasonal. Here I was all proud of my tart 🙂 I think this will be my next one.
Debbie Spivey says
Thanks for the kind words, Amanda! This turned out better than I expected. I am so glad I came up with the dressing. That really brought it all together!
Anna says
I made your tart today and it was perfect! Me and my guests really enjoyed it! I didn’t have feta so used goats cheese. Really good without the dressing, but then tried with and continued eating it with!
Your recipe made it all the way to the south of France! Thank you for sharing!
The Mountain Kitchen says
Hi Anna! I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe. Thank you so much for taking the time to comment and say hello from the south France. Your comment made my day! 🙂
Debbie - MountainMama says
That looks amazing, Mountain Sister!! I never liked beets until last year when I made an incredible winter salad with them. Guess what’s for dinner tonight? That same salad (yum!) along with curried zucchini soup and homemade naan (both out of the freezer) – the salad will have beets I roasted out of my garden and froze – can’t wait!