Fall Harvest Tart Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar and salt until light and fluffy. Beat in egg white and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour. Press onto bottom and up sides of an 11-in. fluted tart pan with removable bottom; place on a baking sheet., Bake 25-30 minutes or until edges are light brown. Cool on a wire rack. Increase oven setting to 375°., For filling, in a large bowl, mix sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add fruit and lemon juice; toss to combine. , For topping, in a small bowl, cream butter, brown sugar and spices until blended. Gradually beat in flour and oats., Add filling to crust; sprinkle with topping. Bake 45-50 minutes or until top is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Steps:

• To make the crust, in a food processor, add both flours and the salt and pulse to combine. Add the butter and thyme and pulse until pea-size chunks form. Keep pulsing while adding the vinegar and then the cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, stopping when the dough just barely holds together. Form the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap, and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a 13-inch circle. It should be about 1/4 inch thick. Roll the dough around the rolling pin and lift it into an 11-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough into the edges and up the sides, making sure to patch up any holes. Gently roll your rolling pin across the top of the tart pan to remove the extra dough and create a clean edge. Prick the bottom of the dough with a fork, lay a piece of parchment paper on top, and fill the tart shell with pie weights (I use rocks from the yard-classy, I know). Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the parchment and weights and bake until the top looks almost dry, another 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.
• While the crust is cooling, prepare the filling. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the squash with 1/2 tablespoon of the olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the nutmeg. Spread in an even layer and bake until the squash begins to brown around the edges, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.
• In a large sauté pan over medium heat, warm 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and the garlic. When the garlic starts to sizzle a bit and becomes fragrant, add the Swiss chard, red pepper flakes, and a pinch of salt. Sauté until the chard is wilted, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and set aside.
• Peel and halve the onion and thinly slice. In the same pan you used for the chard, heat the remaining 1/2 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and stir every so often until caramelized, about 20 minutes. When the onions are a nice light brown color, add the balsamic vinegar, stir, and turn off the heat. The onions will absorb the vinegar as they cool a bit.
• Squeeze out any excess water from the Swiss chard and return to the bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs until blended well, then add to the chard. To the bowl with the chard, add three-fourths of the squash, half of the cheese, the onion, and a few grinds of black pepper. Gently mix everything together and pour into the tart pan. Spread into an even layer. Scatter the remaining squash and cheese across the top. Bake in the oven until the egg is just set and the top is browned, 24 to 28 minutes. Remove the tart from the oven and allow it to cool for 5 to 10 minutes before cutting into slices and serving.

Steps:

• Make filling:
• Peel, core, and chop coarse apple and pear. In a large heavy saucepan combine dried and fresh fruits with water to cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 15 minutes. Drain fruit in a sieve, discarding liquid, and chop coarse. Return fruit to pan and add remaining filling ingredients. Simmer filling, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes, or until thickened. Transfer filling to a heat-proof bowl and cool.
• On a lightly floured surface roll out about two thirds dough into a 12-inch round (about 1/8 inch thick) and fit into a 10-inch tart or pie pan with a removable fluted rim. Chill shell 30 minutes. Gather dough scraps together with remaining dough and on a lightly floured surface roll out into a 10-inch round (about 1/8 inch thick). Cut round into 1/2-inch-wide strips and chill on a baking sheet 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Spread filling in shell, smoothing top, and weave dough strips in a lattice pattern over pie, trimming lattice edges flush with rim of pan and brushing dough lightly with egg wash. Bake tart in middle of oven 40 minutes, or until crust is pale golden. Cool tart in pan on a rack 15 minutes and remove side of pan.
• Serve tart at room temperature with ice cream or whipped cream.

Steps:

• Use pulsing action to process flour, butter and half the cream cheese in food processor until mixture is blended and dough starts to pull away from side of container. Shape into ball; wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate 1 hour or until chilled.
• Heat oven to 400°F. Roll dough on lightly floured surface to 14x8-inch rectangle. Place on parchment-covered baking sheet; set aside.
• Place remaining cream cheese in medium microwaveable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 10 sec. or just until softened. Add half the dry gelatin mix; stir until blended. Spread onto dough to within 2 inches of edges.
• Toss apples with cornstarch, cinnamon and remaining dry gelatin mix; spoon over cream cheese mixture. Fold edges of pastry over apples. (Apples in center of tart will remain exposed.) Sprinkle with nuts.
• Bake 35 min. or until crust is golden brown and apples are tender. Cool.