Squash, sage and gorgonzola tart

I had only ever used my tart pan for making desserts, always resorting to pie pans or frozen pie shells for quiches and other savoury tarts. A fortuitous occasion of having butternut squash and blue cheese on hand at the same time led to me trying to use my tart pan for something not so sweet.

Recipe

from TartsPie dough3/4 cup all-purpose flour2-1/2 oz cold butter, cut into piecespinch of saltcold waterFilling1/2 small butternut squash1 tsp olive oilgenerous 1 cup heavy cream6 oz Gorgonzola cheese2 eggs, plus 1 egg yolk6-8 fresh sage leavessalt and pepperCut the squash in half and brush the cut side with oil. Place cut-side up on a baking sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes, until browned and very soft. Let cool. Remove the seeds and scoop out the flesh into a large bowl, discarding the skin. Lightly grease a 9" loose-bottomed fluted tart pan. Sift the flour and salt into a food processor, add the butter and process until mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. Tip the mixture into a large bowl and add a little cold water, just enough to bring the dough together. Turn out onto a floured surface and roll out the dough 3-1/4" larger than the pan. Carefully lift the dough into the pan and press to fit, rolling the rolling pin over the pan to neaten the edges and remove excess dough. Fit a piece of parchment paper into the tart shell and fill with dried beans, and let chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 375 F.Remove pastry shell from the refrigerator and blind bake the tart shell for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, then remove the beans and paper. Return to oven for 5 minutes. Mash the squash and mix with half the cream, season with salt and pepper, and spread in the pastry shell. Slice the cheese and lay it on top. Whisk the remaining cream with the eggs and egg yolk and pour the mixture into the tart pan, making sure it settles evenly. Arrange sage leaves in a circle on the surface. Bake for 30-35 minutes and leave for 10 minutes in the pan before serving.

Musings

A delightfully tasty dish--the sweetness of the butternut squash (which I love) against the tanginess of the blue cheese is a truly excellent combination. The sage was also a nice touch, not only decoratively, but added a nice counterpoint to the other flavours. I was also pleased to find that I may actually prefer using the tart pan with pie dough, as the ever-so-crumbly (though delicious) graham cracker crusts in desserts can be quite finicky. Definitely a dish to have again!