Maple, Pumpkin & Walnut Tart

The sweet, rich flavours of pumpkin and maple syrup in this tart are perfectly balanced by silverbeet bitterness, sage herbiness and toasted walnut crunchiness, all wrapped up in a crispy, delicious butter puff cuddle. If you’re looking for a meat-free option this Easter, look no further than this fabulous dish!

Serves: 6
Prep/Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Skill Level: Easy

Ingredients

For the pastry:
1 (375g packet) Carême All Butter Puff Pastry, defrosted
½ cup roughly chopped mixed fresh herbs
For the topping:
500g Kent Pumpkin, sliced into 1cm pieces
1 tablespoon maple syrup
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ teaspoon sea salt flakes
A pinch of dried chilli flakes
300g (1 bunch) silverbeet, ribs removed and roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
⅓ cup walnut halves, toasted
2 large handfuls sage leaves
Olive oil, to shallow fry the sage
200g buffalo mozzarella, torn.

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C fan-forced (200°C conventional).
In a large mixing bowl, toss the pumpkin together with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the maple syrup, sea salt flakes and chilli flakes, then spread mixture out on a lined baking sheet.
Place pumpkin into the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Turn the pumpkin over and bake for another 15 minutes. Once cooked, remove the pumpkin from the oven and set aside to cool.
Increase oven temperature to 220°C (240°C conventional).
Unroll the pastry, dust it with flour and cut it in half along the long edge. Sprinkle the chopped herbs evenly over the top of one half, then place the other half over the top. Using a rolling pin, roll the pastry to ½cm thickness then cut a 26cm round circle.
Place circle on the centre of a baking tray lined with baking paper and position cookie cutters on each corner of the tray. Place another tray on top of the cookie cutters (this will cause the puff to rise evenly and only as high as the cookie cutters). Bake for 8 minutes, then reduce the heat to 200°C (220°C conventional) and cook for a further 8 minutes, or until the pastry is golden. Once golden, remove the pastry from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
While the pastry is cooking, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large fry pan over medium heat, then add the garlic and silverbeet and toss until the silverbeet has wilted. Set aside to cool.
In a small frypan, heat 1cm of olive oil over medium-high heat until hot, then fry 6-8 sage leaves at a time until crisp (about 2-3 seconds), scoop out with a slotted spoon and transfer to paper towel to drain.
To serve, place the pastry on a large round serving platter and top with silverbeet and roast pumpkin slices. Top with the toasted walnuts and sage leaves, then add the torn buffalo mozzarella. Season the top with salt and pepper and serve.

Please note:

All components for this dish can be made in advance and put together just before you are ready to serve. Simply store the pastry at room temperature in an airtight container and place the cooked pumpkin and silverbeet in the fridge.

Tip: