Autumn is the season for pumpkins and this savoury tart makes the most of one of my favourites: Hokkaido squash. Roasted until soft and sweet, it is paired with sheep’s ricotta, goat’s cheese and thyme in a spelt and sesame pastry, with a little chilli pepper and honey to finish. I spent several months living in Japan, where I ate Hokkaido squash almost every day (perhaps a little excessively). Its dense, sweet flesh becomes almost caramelized when roasted, while the thin skin means there is no need to peel it. Here I roast it in thin slices with extra-virgin olive oil, sea salt and peperoncino, then layer it over a mixture of ricotta di pecora and goat’s cheese with thyme.
Serves 6
Preparation: 45 min, plus resting
Cooking: about 1 hour
Ingredients
For the pastry
150g spelt flour
100g plain flour
1 tbsp sesame seeds
5g fine sea salt
45g extra-virgin olive oil
100g very cold water
For the filling
1 small or half of a Hokkaido squash (about 600g)
Extra-virgin olive oil, for roasting
Sea salt
Chilli pepper, to taste
250g sheep’s ricotta, well drained
200g fresh goat’s cheese
A few sprigs of fresh thyme
Freshly ground black pepper
1 egg yolk, for brushing
1–2 tbsp honey, preferably chestnut honey, for drizzling
Method
Start with the pastry. In a large bowl, combine the spelt flour, plain flour, sesame seeds and salt. Add the olive oil and rub it into the flour with your fingertips for about a minute until the mixture resembles damp sand. Add the cold water and mix briefly, just until the dough comes together, taking care not to overwork it. Flatten the dough into a thick disc, wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Wash the squash, cut it in half and scoop out the seeds. Cut into slices about 5mm thick, leaving the skin on.
Arrange the squash on a baking tray, brush with olive oil and season with sea salt and chilli pepper. Roast for about 25 minutes, until tender and beginning to caramelize around the edges. Set aside.
Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C. Take the pastry out of the fridge about 10 minutes before rolling. Roll it between two sheets of baking paper to 3-5mm thick, then use it to line a 26-28cm tart tin. Fold the excess pastry inwards to form a thicker rim around the edge. Prick the base with a fork and bake for 10 minutes before adding the filling.
Meanwhile, mix the ricotta and goat’s cheese in a bowl. Add the thyme leaves and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Spread the cheese mixture evenly over the pre-baked base. Arrange the roasted squash slices on top, overlapping them slightly like petals. Lightly brush the pastry rim with the egg yolk. Bake for 35 minutes at 180°C until the pastry is crisp and the rim is golden.
Enjoy!
