Sophy's Roasted Butternut Squash, Red Pesto and Goats Cheese Tart

Hey there guys!

I'm so sorry it's been a while since my last food related post. I've been really busy with my YouTube channel and my beauty blog (check it out if you haven't done so already!) and I really apologise for neglecting you all. To those of you who are new to my food corner -  as well as all things fashion and beauty related, I cook too (mutli-tasking o'clock!) I cook pretty much everything and anything and I love experimenting with flavours and ingredients.

Over the next few weeks I'm going to try and focus on quick meal ideas. I work Monday to Friday and myself and my boyfriend are at the gym or training pretty much 4 evenings a week which leaves little time for gourmet meals! I know that many people out there are strapped for time during the week too so I wanted to share with you a few of my simple, quick and easy meals to help keep your dinners fun but not too time consuming. 

So here's my first recipe in the series! Sophy's Roasted Butternut Squash and Goats Cheese tart. It's a recipe that I can take full credit for as I made it up myself! Granted, with a little bit of inspiration from a few other recipes.. But hey! It's still mine :)

Here's what you need:

Half of a medium sized butternut squash, precooked.
I like to have one of these already roasted in the fridge as there are a few recipes I like to cook using a good old squash! To cook one, I prick the skin and put it in the oven whole for around an hour - an hour and a half depending on it's size. Half way through cooking take it out of the oven and cut in in half. This will make it cook quicker and believe you me, its easier to cut half cooked than fresh! You'll only need half a squash for this recipe so wrap the other half up and put it in the fridge for another recipe... Maybe my butternut squash, chilli, and blue cheese rigatoni? ;) 


1 sheet of puff pastry, ready made
If you can make it yourself then by all means go for it. I'm lazy and I like to save time. Pre rolled puff pastry still does the job!


1 Jar of red pesto OR tub of fresh red pesto
Either or. It's up to you. I bought some fresh for mine but the jarred stuff would taste just as yummy.


1 roll of goats cheese
You're only going to be using around 6-8 teaspoons of this so I would recommend getting the long tube like rolls of goats cheese, or the 175g tub of the French stuff they do in Sainsbury's.
 

Small tub of single cream
You're only going to need to use a few drizzles of this so just a small tub will do fine.


Dried chilli flakes (optional)
I think Butternut Squash and chilli go together perfectly, so I like to add some to the top of mine. Don't feel like you have to though if chilli isn't really your thing. 

 

Step 1
Roll out your puff pastry sheet onto some baking paper, or onto a clean baking tray. You'll be using the whole rectangle so don't worry about cutting it or shaping it. I find the pastry works better when it's been out of the fridge for a good 10 minutes so try and leave it to warm up a little before rolling it out.

Step 2
Get your chosen butternut squash halve and scoop out the pips if you haven't done so already. Then start scooping out the inside of the squash and spreading it onto the sheet of puff pastry. Leave a good inch or 2 round the edge though as we're going to be folding that in when we're done to make a puff pastry crust... Mmmm!

Step 3
Once you've spread a nice even layer of the squash onto the puff pastry sheet, you're going to want to season with salt and pepper and drizzle a little single cream on top. I'm not sure why squash cooks better with cream but it just does... It makes it a little more creamy and yummy!

Step 4
Even add between 6-8 teaspoons of goats cheese onto the squash layer. Think of it a bit like a pizza, you want there to be little blobs of goats cheese on top all evenly spaced out. Then drizzle some pesto on top, again as evenly as you can.

Step 5
Finally you want to add your chilli flakes if you're using them. Just sprinkle them lightly and evenly on top.

Step 6
Now you're going to want to fold in your edges. You should have amount half an inch to an inch of crust when you're done folding. You can rub some melted butter round the edges if you fancy a slightly more crispy golden crust but it's entirely up to you!

Put the whole tart into the oven for around 30 minutes, gas mark 7/ 200 degrees for a fan assisted and 220 for a non fan assisted. If you're using a fan assisted oven then keep an eye on the tart during cooking as you may need to reduce the time slightly. 


So there you have it! My Roasted Butternut Squash, Red Pesto and Goats Cheese tart! I hope you enjoy!

DML xxx