Scraping the Skillet

First, let me start by mentioning how shocked I am that it is already October. I feel like we just started July…and I’m sure I’m not alone on this one. Even though it’s still 95 in Tucson during the day, the winds of fall are upon us. We Tucsonans notice season changes by subtle differences: change in lighting, drier air, wind, certain flowers start blooming, and some others stop blooming. But we notice the shift all the same.

For me, one of the indicators is that our butternut squash are ripe on the vine and ready to be eaten. Which is good, really, because I love butternut squash. It’s right next to pumpkin as one of my favorite fall and winter foods. Actually, it might eek out a notch higher than pumpkin. Maybe. Sweet potatoes are pretty high up there too…maybe it’s the orange I’m attracted to.

As I set out to make something yummy with our butternut squash I found a lot of recipes echoing dishes I have made in the past. I wanted something totally different. Then I found this recipe for Achiote-Rubbed Butternut Squash Tacos. Trying to break away from the sage/thyme/rosemary/butter/mushrooms/garlic/Parmesan flavoring was challenging me and Michael’s recipe sounded great. The warmth of the chile would be perfect with the squash. The only problem was that I didn’t really want to make tacos. I wanted to make a rustic tart. Here’s how I worked it out:

I made a pie crust substituting cornmeal for some of the AP flour:

• 2 1/4 c AP Flour
• 3/4 c cornmeal
• 1 t table salt
• 1/2 c vegetable shortening, cold (I use Spectrum Organics, which is trans fat free)
• 1/3 c unsalted butter, cold
• ~1/2 c ice water

Pulse dry ingredients in a food processor. Add shortening and butter and pulse for 2 seconds, 5 times. Add ice water until the dough comes together. Don’t feel you have to use it all if you don’t need to. Pulse for 2 more seconds. Stop. Form the dough into a ball and place it in the fridge.

Then I started putting together items for the filling:

• 2.5-3 lbs Butternut squash (about 2 medium), chopped in 1/2″ cubes
• 1 red onion, diced
• 4 T canola oil (for browning the squash and onions)
• 4 medium Poblano peppers, roasted and diced
• 8 oz Queso Oaxaca
• 2 tomatoes, drained and diced
• 4 T cilantro, coarsely chopped
• 6 T sour cream
• 1T mild green chile powder
• 1/2 t kosher salt

First, two quick ingredient notes: 1. Mozzarella is a good substitute if you can’t get your hands on Queso Oaxaca. 2. I bought my green chile powder at Native Seeds/SEARCH, a non-profit in Tucson. I checked on their website and they don’t seem to be offering it at the moment. Regardless, It is worth a few minutes to check out Native Seeds. They have a really great mission (and a number of unique item for sale). Green chile powder is available online at Savory Spice Shop, based in Denver. You should also check your local spice shop, as they may have green chile powder available.

OK, back to cooking. First, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Start by caramelizing the onions and squash on the stove top. The onions won’t take as long as the squash, so it’s best to do them separately. Make sure you keep the squash on long enough to cook it most of the way.

You can see from the picture that I cooked the squash and onions together on the first round (maybe you can’t see this…maybe I am imagining it…). On the second try I cooked them separately and I think that was a much better approach.

Once your squash and onions are done, mix all of your filling ingredients in bowl and set aside.

Divide your chilled dough in half and roll out one of the two pieces to make a rough circle. Gently transfer the dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet.

Mound up half of your filling in the center of the dough. Your mound will be pretty high. Think pyramid more than dome. Gently fold the edges of the dough to wrap up and around the filling. Your tart should look something like this:

Repeat this process so you have two tarts. These won’t be too big (~8 inches in diameter) so you may even be able to fit them both on the same baking sheet. Make a loose cover out of tinfoil to cover the top of the tarts. Bake, covered, at 375 for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes or until the crust begins to brown around the edges. Cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Makes 2 Rustic Butternut Squash Tarts.

If you do make this, please leave a comment and let me know how it turned out! I’d love to hear from you!