Roast pumpkin & ricotta tartlets

This past weekend Mr Shady Pine and I were visiting his family. One of the things I really enjoy doing when there is to go out shopping with my mother in law. In particular, we both love checking out kitchen and homeware shops.

On this visit the MIL casually mentioned that a new kitchenware shop had opened nearby and would I like to see it? What was this? There was no word of the aforementioned kitchenware shop in our calls and emails prior to the visit. Me thinks MIL was trying to pull a surprise knowing I'd jump at the chance. Well it worked!




We spent an enjoyable morning pouring through this little shop that was absolutely jam packed with kitchenware. Some of it was stock standard but there were also a quite a few unique pieces. I especially liked a set of handmade Japanese bowls but they were a bit on the pricey side so I didn't get those.


What I did walk away with was a set of loose bottom tart tins. Even though you can find these at most kitchen stores, I'd coveted them for a long time yet for some reason had not bought them. I continued to use my large tart tin and made large tarts instead of individual ones. I was so chuffed to get these anyone would have thought I was walking out with the pricey Japanese bowls and not tart tins that cost a few dollars each.


So as the proud new owner of these little tins, I was jumping at the chance to test them out. What resulted were beautiful little individual roast pumpkin and ricotta tartlets. The pastry turned out really well as it was light and crispy. While the ricotta filling was lightly scented with lemon zest and garlic. These would be a perfect light lunch served warm or cold with a salad.

So tell me, when was the last time you bought something new and could not wait to try it out?

Roast pumpkin & ricotta tartlets:
Makes 4

Ingredients:

Pastry:
¾ cup plain flour
65g butter
3 Tbs cold water

Filling:
400g light ricotta (I used a tub of smooth ricotta)
¼ cup milk
1 egg
½ butternut pumpkin, cut into small cubes
2 Tbs olive oil
Zest of 1 lemon
1 garlic clove, crushed
¼ cup parsley, finely chopped
Salt to taste
2 Tbs grated parmesan

1. Preheat oven to 200 C. On baking sheet add the pumpkin, olive oil and S&P to taste. Bake for 30 minutes until the pumpkin is cooked. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature.
2. Grease with olive oil spray four 10cm tart tins with loose bottoms.
3. Make the pastry by adding the pasty ingredients into a food processor. Process until clumps of pastry start to form. Form pastry into a ball. Divide the ball equally into 4. Wrap in plastic wrap and leave to chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
4. In a jug whisk together the ricotta, milk, egg, lemon, garlic, parsley and salt. Cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge.
5. Remove pastry from the fridge and roll it out on a floured surface to approx 5mm in thickness. Line each tart tin with the pastry and remove excess from the edges. Cover the pastry lined tins and refrigerate for a further 30 minutes.
6. Remove the pastry lined tins from the fridge and place on a baking tray. Cover each tin with a piece of foil and top with pie weights or alternatively rice or dry beans. Bake for 13 minutes. Remove the foil after this time and bake for a further 8 minutes until the pastry is golden.
7. Divide the roast pumpkin over the base of each tart. Pour the ricotta mixture over the top of the pumpkin taking care not to overfill the pastry cases. Sprinkle each tart with the parmesan.
8. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Serve with a salad if desired.