Blue Cheese and Pine Nut Pumpkin Tart | Easy

Prep: 1 hour | Total: 1 hour 40 minutes | Ingredients: 10 | Servings: 8 slices

Blue Cheese and Pine Nut Pumpkin Tart is a perfect balance of sweet pumpkin and salty blue cheese with pine nuts for some texture, perfumed with thyme.

Throw a great flaky, crispy and buttery pastry into the mix and we’re on a roll for a perfect vegetable pie and trust us when we say even the meat eaters amongst us will be asking for more when you serve this deliciousBlue Cheese and Pine Nut Pumpkin Tart!

At a Glance This Is What You Need To Make Blue Cheese and Pine Nut Pumpkin Tart

Jen came upon this recipe from some torn-out pages of magazine recipes collected, and long forgotten about. Flicking through the pumpkin tart recipe we thought it would work beautifully using Delia Smith’s quick and easy flaky pastry.

For anyone that thinks they can’t make pastry, think again. It’s very, very easy to make a light, very crispy, and flaky pastry, and best of all it’s foolproof.
We like, actually love Delia for her perfectly prim delivery of recipes that always work and this pastry is no exception… it’s a winner! Thanks, Delia.

If you’re not up to making the pastry feel free to use some easy supermarket, pre-rolled puff pastry.

How To Roast Pumpkin So It Doesn’t Go Soggy

High heat and spacing are the keys to roasting pumpkin that doesn’t go soggy. The high temperature will quickly coax out all those naturally sweet flavours and start to caramelise the sugar in the pumpkin.

Spacing the pumpkin pieces allows any steam to evaporate and keeps the pumpkin dry.

Roasting the pumpkin helps to bring out its natural sweetness. Just be careful that your pumpkin is not coated in too much oil, and if you think it is pop it on some kitchen paper to blot the oil, otherwise the pumpkin will be too wet for the Pumpkin Blue Cheese and Pine Nut Pie.

1. Toss pumpkin in oil and bake until deeply caramelised
2. Add onions to frying pan with oil and cook until they have softened and started to caramelise
3. Add garlic and pine nuts and cook until softened
4. Stir in 3/4’s of the thyme leaves
5. Place the mixture in a strainer and allow to drain excess oil, then allow to cool
6. Once mixture has cooled add the parmesan and salt

7. Gently fold the pumpkin pieces into the mixture
8. Prepare the pastry base
9. Spread the pumpkin mixture onto the pastry base leaving a 2cm (3/4 in) border
10. Crumble the blue cheese over the pumpkin mixture
11. Prepare the tart pastry top
12. Brush with egg wash and cut a small circle from the centre to release the steam
13. Cover the pumpkin with the pastry and crimp to seal
14. Bake until crisp and golden

What’s The Best Blue Cheese For Pumpkin Tart

You can really use any blue cheese you like for this pie, but we like to use the soft and creamy blues such as Castello, or Gorgonzola, although a firm Stilton may be a step too far. Roquefort, or St Agur would be divine if your budget is up to it.

What Can I Replace Pine Nuts With

Toasted walnuts, or pecans chopped would work with this pie. The nuts add a lovely texture to the soft pumpkin, onion, and cheese along with the crispiness of the pastry.

Watch How To Make Blue Cheese and Pine Nut Pumpkin Tart

What Is Flaky Pastry Called

Flaky pastry is also known as quick pastry, blitz pastry or rough puff. It’s light and flaky and similar to puff pastry, but with far less work to make it.

We used  Quick and Easy Flaky Pastry to make this pie with and it was ultra crispy and flaky. We ate it warm with a light salad of rocket, orange and red onion. Let me tell you we both went back for seconds. Use a store-bought puff pastry if you’re short on time, or lack the inspiration to make your own. Both work beautifully!

You need to cut the bottom disc of pastry a little smaller than the top as the top has the extra distance of the mound of pumpkin to cover.

Don’t forget to rate this recipe and let us know what you thought when you make this fabulous Blue Cheese and Pine Nut Pumpkin Tart in the reviews below. 

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Yield: 8 serves

Blue Cheese and Pine Nut Pumpkin Tart

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes

This tart is a little winner! It has the perfect balance of sweet pumpkin and salty blue cheese along with pine nuts for some texture.

Click on this link for our Quick and Easy Flaky Pastry

Published April 2020

Original recipe from Australian Gourmet Traveller, and adapted by Recipe Winners.

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Ingredients

• 900g peeled Kent (Jap / Kabocha) pumpkin cut into 4cm (1 1/2 inch) cubes
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
• 4 medium cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• 80g soft blue cheese (we used blue castello) 2 3/4 ounces
• 50g parmesan, finely grated (1 3/4 ounces)
• 1 egg, lightly beaten, for eggwash
• 1 teaspoon salt (1/2 teaspoon for the pumpkin and 1/2 teaspoon when adding the parmesan)

Pastry

• double quantity of home made quick and easy flaky pastry -( see link in notes below ), or store bought pastry

Instructions

1. preheat oven to 200c on bake, not fan (395f)
2. toss pumpkin with 1 1/2 tablespoons of the olive oil
3. spread pumpkin pieces on a baking sheet lined with baking paper (parchment), sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and bake for 20 minutes till pumpkin is tender and starts to caramelise (be careful not to overcook) - see notes
4. Heat remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large frypan and cook till onion has softened and slightly caramelised
5. add garlic and pine nuts to onion and stir for 2-3 minutes till garlic has softened
6. stir in 3/4 of the thyme leaves
7. place mixture in a strainer, or colander over a bowl to allow any excess oil to drain then place strainer and bowl in the refrigerator to cool
8. once cool discard any oil that has drained and mix the onion mixture with the parmesan and 1/2 teaspoon of salt
9. gently fold the pumpkin pieces through the onion mix
10. divide pastry into two pieces
11. roll one half of the pastry into a round and cut a 24cm (9 1/2 inch) disc (this will be the bottom of the tart (we used a mixing bowl and ran a knife around the edge)
12. place pastry onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper
13. meanwhile roll the second half of pastry and place the bowl that you used to cut the bottom pastry onto the pastry
14. using a sharp knife cut a circle about 2 1/2cm (1 inch) wider than the bowl (this is the top sheet of pastry and needs to be larger than the base pastry to accomodate the mound of pumpkin)
15. cut a small hole about 2cm (3/4 inch) in the centre of the pastry using a small sharp knife (this hole allows steam to escape) - chill until ready to use
16. spread pumpkin mixture on base pastry leaving a 2cm (3/4 inch) border, then brush border with egg wash
17. crumble the blue cheese over the pumpkin mixture and sprinkle with last 1/4 of the thyme leaves
18. place top sheet of pastry over the base and press gently to seal with the bottom pastry
19. crimp pastry around the edges
20. brush with remaining egg wash and bake at 220c (430f) on bake, not fan till golden and crisp (25-30 minutes)
21. remove from oven and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving
22. enjoy!

Notes

. Quick and Easy Flaky Pastry can be made ahead of time
. you can easily use a store-bought pastry, rather than make your own
. if your pumpkin is too oily when cooked gently dab with some kitchen paper to absorb excess oil

Nutrition Information

Yield

8

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 177Total Fat 13gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 8gCholesterol 39mgSodium 462mgCarbohydrates 12gFiber 1gSugar 4gProtein 5g

Nutritional information provided here is only intended as a guide.