Skip to main content

Tart with a Heart of Gold - Chorizo, Feta and Butternut Squash Tart


I'm the kind of person that is constantly thinking of flavour combinations, and how best I can use my favourite ingredients. Chorizo, squash and feta are three of my all time favourites, but I've never used them together. As soon as I knew that I was going to make this, and I could envisage the golden colours of the chorizo and butternut squash melding into deliciousness, the phrase popped into my head.

"In television history, the "tart with a heart of gold" has become an important archetype in serial drama and soap opera, especially in Britain. During the 1960s, the character of Elsie Tanner in British series Coronation Street set the mold for future characters such as Bet Lynch (also Coronation Street) and Kat Slater (EastEnders). Characters of this nature are often depicted as having tragic lives, but put on a front when in public to create the illusion of happiness. More often than not, these female characters are vital to their respective shows, and inevitably become some of the biggest stars in British Television" (from Wikipedia)

However, this particular tart has a hint of elegance about it. More Vivian Ward (Julia Roberts' character in Pretty Woman) than Elsie Tanner or Bet Lynch. I think it is the cool saltiness of the feta, against the sweetness of the squash, and the spicy chorizo. This is definitely one of my all time favourite flavour combinations. 


You may remember that I recently posted about the pastry course I went on at Eckington Manor. I didn't want to leave it too long without trying out what I was taught, so a tart using the shortcrust pastry method we used seemed like a good idea. As Mike is away at the moment, the chorizo, combined with butternut squash and feta, is an indulgence just for me.


I began by preparing the chorizo and butternut squash. Cutting each into similar sized chunks and dry frying the chorizo, while roasting the squash in some olive oil (seasoned with 1/2 tspn salt and 1/4 tspn black pepper). The squash took about 30 minutes at 190 (fan), turning half way through.

Chorizo fried until tinged golden brown and the oil has run
Roasted Butternut Squash - some thyme added just at the end of cooking
I used the method for shortcrust pastry I was taught on the course (200g plain flour, 100g butter, chilled water), and once I had brought the dough together, let it rest for 20 minutes in the fridge. I then lined a 15cm (6 inch) flan ring, and let that chill again in the fridge, before baking blind in a 150  degree (fan) oven. I used an egg wash to seal the pastry, baking for a further couple of minutes. All I can say is that I'm glad I used a deep flan ring, because the pastry still shrank  from the edge, despite me taking real care to follow the instructions given on the course (but I may not have left it to chill long enough after lining the ring). Anyhoo, the picture below shows what I mean.


Once baked, I added the filling, using about 80g chorizo, 80g squash and 60g feta (crumbled). I then made a simple mix whisking 2 eggs and 150ml of milk together (and then passed through a sieve to ensure no lumps), then adding a pinch of salt and pepper. I poured this over the filling, and returned to the oven (160 fan) to cook until the custard had set.


Once the tart had cooled for about 30 minutes, it held up well to cutting. The taste was fantastic - sweet, salty, spicy, with a crisp buttery pastry.


 

Some of the golden oil from the chorizo had  spread through the custard to help give that lovely golden colour I had imagined. The chunks of feta held up well. I was really pleased with it, and will definitely make it again.


It was perfect for lunch. I hope you enjoy it.

Susie

Comments

  1. Your tart looks amazingly tempting, I'd love a nice warm slice of this...I might try making it! :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Laura. Just had another piece for tea! If you do try it, I'd love to hear how you get on. :) x

      Delete
  2. YUM! Looks really appetizing !!I love the ingredients in this lovely tart. Sounds so yummy! Have a lovely day! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Kit. I love the Ingredients on their own, but together they were really special. Glad you like it. You have a lovely day, too! :)

      Delete
  3. This looks so good. I love the variety of flavour combinations that the humble flan/tart/quiche (whatever you want to call it!) offers!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks B, yes it is really good, and I do think that once you know how to make the pastry case, the variety of fillings you can use is endless :)

      Delete

Post a Comment

Your comments are very much appreciated.

Popular posts from this blog

Dark Indulgent Chocolate and Walnut Brownies for the Weekly Bake Off

It's been a great couple of weeks in the Bake Off , as Amy has chosen some fantastic chocolate recipes from Mary Berry's 100 Cakes and Bakes . Although I made last week's American Chocolate Ripple Cheesecake, I didn't enter it. Not because it was a disaster (it was incredibly delicious though very rich - Josh has been able to eek it out all week as he only needs a little piece to get his daily chocolate fix!), but I simply ran out of time. So this week, I decided to get my skates on and make the bake early. Particularly as it's brownies. Yes. Brownies. Those dark, fudgey, chocolatey little bites of heaven. But for me, this week was an experiment. You see, I already have a fantastic brownie recipe . It's been made countless times and been played around with to give an endless variety of treats. (Have I ever mentioned Maya Gold in brownies? Yes? Well I'll have to post about them someday soon because they are amazing - like some sort of out of body exp

Not Viennese, but Swiss Cakes for the Weekly Bake Off

One of my strongest childhood memories is the ritual of our family's Sunday Tea, which always took a certain form. My nan would put the kettle on at just before 4pm, and a pot of steaming hot tea would soon be brewed. There were sandwiches, and always, always some form of cake. Quite often, if nan and mum had had a busy weekend, it would be provided by Mr Kipling. My brother and I looked forward to this with some enthusiasm, as there were quite often French Fancies and Vienniese Whirls, which were our hands-down favourites. We could leave the Battenburg Slices, and the jam tarts were often a bit too dry  for us (definitely not as good as homemade). But the soft sweet inside of an iced French Fancy (my favourite being the lemon yellow ones), and the moistness of the Viennese Whirls were something to savour. Of course, you can still buy these. But they just don't seem to taste the same somehow. So when Amy announced this week's Bake Off challenge as the Apricot Swiss

Limoncello Cake

I really love this cake. I mean really love it. So much so, it's my new best friend. It's like sunshine on a plate. The citrussy aroma tempts you while the sultry lemony pucker hits you full in the mouth. And who can resist anything with 'Limoncello' in the title? The mere mention of the word transports you to to the Sicilian sun. It's one more reason I have to thank Random Recipes for getting me to delve into my cookbooks. This month's challenge had a bit of a twist. Dom, of Belleau Kitchen (who runs the challenge) created a Randometer thingummy-bob to test us. You had to enter how many cookbooks you owned, and then it would generate a random number. You counted along your shelf to that book, and then entered the number of pages, to generate another number and so find your Random Recipe. The gods must have been looking favourably on me this month, as I ended up with this gorgeous lemon cake, from Peggy Porschen's 'Boutique Baking