This speck and pumpkin savoury tart is very common in the south of France, mainly due to the fact that pumpkin favours a more temperate climate. Pumpkin tart is largely a provincial specialty, found mostly in small village bakeries or on the shelves of fresh food markets rather than in the more cosmopolitan bakeries of large towns and cities.
If you overlook its understated and decidedly rustic look, you will be rewarded with a perfectly balanced and moist tart, with undertones of hazelnuts and honey that can be enjoyed as a mid-afternoon treat, or served as our family likes to do, as an accompaniment for a Sunday roast.
Ingredients
- 1 lb 2 oz (500 g) cold Puff Pastry, 5 single turns
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- pinch of fine salt
Filling
- 1 lb 5 oz (600 g) butternut (squash), jap or kent pumpkin
- 1¾ oz (50 g) unsalted butter
- 5 fl oz (150 ml) whipping cream (35% fat)
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- fine salt, to taste
- 7 oz (200 g) piece speck, bacon or prosciutto, cut into 1 cm (½ in) cubes
How to Make It
- You will need a 25 cm (10 in) tart ring or tart tin with a removable base. Roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured work surface until 5 mm (¼ in) thick. Remember to keep moving the dough and dusting with extra flour when necessary so that it doesn’t stick to your work surface. Line the base and side of the tin with the pastry, reserving the pastry scraps. Refrigerate both the tart shell and scraps for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, to make the filling, peel the pumpkin, remove the seeds and cut it into 4 cm (1½ in) cubes. Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil over high heat. Add the pumpkin, then reduce the heat to medium, cover and cook for 15 minutes, or until tender. Remove from the heat and drain. Put the hot pumpkin into a food processor with the butter, cream, eggs, nutmeg and pepper and process until smooth and creamy. Season to taste with salt, then set aside to cool.
- Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Remove the tin from the fridge and line the tart shell with foil, making sure the side of the shell is covered, then fill to the top with uncooked rice or baking beads. Blind bake for 20 minutes, or until the bottom of the tart shell is golden. Remove the rice and foil and set aside until cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C (350°F).
- Meanwhile, place a frying pan over high heat for 2 minutes or until hot, then add the speck and cook, stirring continuously, for 8–10 minutes, or until the speck is golden and the fat has melted. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel. This process is called rendering and it is designed to melt the fat in your meat, remove impurities and improve the overall flavour and texture. Stir the speck into the cooled pumpkin purée, then pour the pumpkin filling into the tart shell.
- To make an egg wash, lightly beat the egg, egg yolk and salt together in a small bowl and set aside. Roll out the reserved puff pastry scraps on a lightly floured work surface into a 2 mm (1/16 in) thick rectangle that measures at least 25 cm (10 in) wide. Cut the pastry into thin 5 mm (¼ in) strips. Lay the strips over the filling, arranging them parallel to each other and spacing them about 2 cm (¾ in) apart. Rotate the tart 45 degrees and repeat the process.
- This simplified lattice design is a lot faster and easier to execute than a weaved lattice on a large tart and still looks rustic and elegant after baking. If you prefer the traditional lattice design, refer to the photograph as a guide. Brush the egg wash neatly over the lattice top and around the edge of the pie, then bake for 30 minutes, or until the pastry is golden. Serve warm with a tablespoon of thick (double/heavy) cream, and a green salad.
