Organic mini pumpkin and ricotta tarts with spiced honey
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Tom Aikens' mini tart recipe makes a perfect party canapé, with a crisp puff pastry base topped with a lightly spiced, sweet pumpkin purée and creamy ricotta cheese. Autumn and winter are the best times to find pumpkin and squash, and most varieties would work well in these tarts. Tom includes a delicious spiced honey recipe which flavours the pumpkin – it makes more than required for the tarts but can be stored for up to a year if sealed in sterilised jars.
Ingredients
Roast pumpkin
- 2 organic pumpkins , or 1 large butternut squash
- salt
Spiced honey
- 250ml of lemon juice
- 300ml of orange juice
- 500ml of xeres vinegar
- 500g of honey
- 2 garlic cloves , halved
- 1 piece of fresh ginger , about 5g, sliced
- 1 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 12g of salt
- 12g of mixed spice
- 7g of cloves
- 5 slices of orange peel
- 7g of juniper berries
- 7g of fennel seeds
- 3g of cumin seeds
- 3g of coriander seeds
- 3g of black peppercorns
- 1g of smoked paprika
- 1 pinch of cayenne pepper
Tart bases
- 250g of puff pastry
- 1 egg , beaten, to glaze
To assemble
- 250g of ricotta
- 1 bunch of fresh thyme , leaves picked
- 30g of Parmesan , shaved
Equipment
- Blender
- 3cm diameter cutter
Method
1
Make the spiced honey the day before to give it time to infuse. Place the lemon juice in a small pan over a medium heat and cook down for 5 minutes or until reduced by half. Transfer to a large pan
- 250ml of lemon juice
2
Repeat with the orange juice, then with the sherry so that all 3 are reduced down to intensify their individual flavours before combining in one large pan
- 300ml of orange juice
- 500ml of xeres vinegar
3
Add the honey and all of the spices to the pan and simmer over a medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and allow to infuse for 1 day
- 500g of honey
- 2 garlic cloves , halved
- 1 piece of fresh ginger , about 5g, sliced
- 1 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 12g of salt
- 12g of mixed spice
- 7g of cloves
- 5 slices of orange peel
- 7g of juniper berries
- 7g of fennel seeds
- 3g of cumin seeds
- 3g of coriander seeds
- 3g of black peppercorns
- 1g of smoked paprika
- 1 pinch of cayenne pepper
4
After this time, strain the infused honey through a fine sieve to remove the spices and store in jars until needed. If storing for longer, ensure the jars are sterilised and then sealed
5
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4
6
Halve your pumpkins (or quarter if they are very large) and remove the seeds. Place in a large baking tray and sprinkle over a good pinch of salt and drizzle over 1–2 tbsp of the spiced honey
- 2 organic pumpkins , or butternut squash
- salt
7
Roast in the oven for 45–60 minutes, or until the pumpkin is tender when pierced with a knife. Allow to cool slightly then scoop out the flesh into a pan (this should give about 400–500g)
8
Add 25g of the spiced honey and another pinch of salt to the pan. Place over a medium heat and cook together for 5–10 minutes until thickened, mashing up the pumpkin as it cooks
9
Transfer to a blender and blitz to form a smooth purée. Allow to cool before assembling the tarts
10
Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 5. Line 2 large baking trays with baking paper
11
Roll out the pastry to a thickness of 5mm and cut out 3cm discs with a round pastry cutter. Place on the lined baking trays and allow to firm up slightly in the fridge for 15 minutes
- 250g of puff pastry
12
Glaze the chilled pastry with the beaten egg yolk then cover with a sheet of baking paper and place another tray on top to keep the pastry flat. Bake in the preheated oven for 8–10 minutes until crisp and golden. Cool on a wire rack
- 1 egg , beaten, to glaze
13
To assemble the tarts, spread a tsp of the pumpkin purée over each pastry base. Top with the ricotta, spooning small blobs over the purée and garnish with the fresh thyme leaves and Parmesan shavings
- 250g of ricotta
- 1 bunch of fresh thyme , leaves picked
- 30g of Parmesan , shaved
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Organic mini pumpkin and ricotta tarts with spiced honey
