As soon as the weather starts to change into cooler days and nights, I’m in the stores buying squash. Squash of any kind is so versatile and you can create so many healthy and delicious meals with it.
Tarts are the perfect way to showcase winter squash, it can be served as a meatless main dish or a tasty appetizer or side, either way you can’t go wrong!
For this tart I paired creamy ricotta with delicata squash, delicata is easy to work with because the skin is nice and thin and totally edible, but you can certainly make this with butternut squash you just have to peel it first.
The crust is homemade ( which is a breeze to make in the food processor) and has the addition of polenta which gives it the ultimate crunch factor. As much as I like to buy pre-made crusts nothing compares to this one.
Topped with crispy sage and toasted pepitas, this tart screams FALL!
I used two delicata squash, sliced them into half inch rounds then scooped out the seeds. Placed them onto a baking sheet and roasted them beforehand.
Ready for the oven with a quick drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of parmesan before baking.
A crunchy crust with the creamy, cheesy filling of ricotta, topped with the sweet rich flavor of the delicata squash, it’s the ultimate combo!
If you want to try another version, here’s one I did a few years back, using different veggies with the same delicious crust.
I hope you make this amazing tart and serve up a slice to your family and friends this fall season.
- 2 delicata squash, cut into ½ inch rings with the seeds scooped out
- FILLING
- 1 cup ricotta, drained of moisture
- 1 finely minced garlic clove
- 2 eggs, 1 for the filling and 1 to brush on top
- ½ cup of grated romano or parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
- DOUGH
- 1 cup of all purpose flour (unbleached)
- ½ cup of instant polenta or fine cornmeal
- ½ teaspoon of salt and a pinch of black pepper
- 6 tablespoons of cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- ¼ to ½ cup of ice water
- fresh sage leaves
- pepitas (optional)
- Pre-heat oven to 400F
- Place rings of delicata onto a baking sheet drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper, roast til lightly golden on each side, then remove and let them cool down.
- Prepare the dough in a food processor by pulsing the flour, polenta, salt and pepper together. Add the butter and process until combined. Then while the machine is running add the ice water down the tube a little at a time until the dough starts to come together in a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for ½ hour.
- Meanwhile mix up the ricotta in a bowl along with the grated cheese, garlic, salt, pepper and 1 egg.
- Remove the dough from the fridge, let it sit at room temp for 15 minutes the on parchment roll it out to about 12 inches in diameter. Take your time rolling then place the whole thing onto a baking sheet.
- Spread the ricotta mixture onto the dough leaving a 2 inch border all around. Place your roasted squash on top all around. Fold the edges up and pleat where needed to seal it in good.
- Brush the crust with the remaining egg, you won't use it all.
- Sprinkle the edge with grated cheese, black pepper .
- Drizzle the top with olive oil.
- Bake around 35 minutes at 400F or until crust is deep golden and ricotta is set.
- To garnish the top, drizzle a bit of olive oil in a small pan and crisp up the sage and toss in pepeitas to get golden and arrange all over the finished tart.
- Enjoy!
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This frittata was born from leftover squash that I had in my fridge and it was a big hit, I love it when things come together at the spur of the moment! You could eat this for breakfast, brunch or even dinner with a salad and it’s so quick to put together like all frittatas are.
 I’ve been experimenting with my new favorite squash, Delicata. It’s smaller in size and has a very thin skin which is all eatable, the flesh is very creamy in texture and rich in flavor. I love the look of the smaller rings when you cut into it with it’s scalloped edges. You can also slice it length wise, remove the seeds, stuff it and eat the whole thing, it’s very tender.
I used freshly grated romano cheese along with and an aged cheddar to flavor my eggs which complemented the delicata squash perfectly. Spinach and tomatoes were also added.
 Make sure not to use too many eggs because you want to be able to see the squash sitting up there real pretty, of course it all depends on how big your pan is, I used a 10″ skillet, five eggs, 5 slices of squash.
I’m Marie, a wife, mother, mother-in-law, and gramma of two beautiful girls. My passion is food, clear and simple but especially Italian food, hence the name of my blog, Proud Italian Cook. I want you to feel right at home here so grab a cup of coffee, I’ll get the pastries, take a look around and enjoy your visit! {
