Cheese, Pecan & Squash Savory Tartlets

I'm glad to share with you a delicious appetizer to enjoy in winter !

This recipe is a tribute to the French Mountain culinary heritage that I'm glad to highlight in my cooking tours. In the Alps, Jura and Franche-Comté, no meals without cheese and dairy products!!

Morbier is a delicious cheese from Franche-Comté, one of the 3 PDO cheeses. It's a raw milk cheese that we easily recognize with it's horizontal line of ashes. In the past, this line preserved the cheese made with the morning milk before the evening milking.


Preparation 45 minutes - Baking time : 50 minutes

INGREDIENTS (6 tartlets)

Dough :
250g all-purpose flour
125g unsalted butter at room temperature
1 egg
1 tbsp water
a pinch of salt
a few sprigs of thyme.

Garnish :
1/2 medium-size squash
1 red onion
30g pecan
80g Morbier cheese
200ml liquid cream 38%
2 eggs
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
table salt & ground pepper
olive oil.

NB: if you can't find Morbier cheese, you can make this recipe with Comté mountain cheese.

DIRECTIONS

In a the bowl of your food processor, put flour, butter cut in cubes, water, salt and thyme. Mix on low speed until you get a sandy dough. Then add the egg. Mix again until the dough has a smooth consistency.
Wrap the dough in plastic film and chill for at least 30 minutes.

In the meantime, cut the squash in small cubes. Sauté in a pan with a table spoon of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Cook it for about 20 minutes. Leave it aside the stove.
Peel and slice the onion thinly. Cook it with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Add sugar and deglaze with balsamic. Cook it over low heat until tender.
Dice the cheese.

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).

In a bowl,
beat the eggs with liquid cream. Add the squash, onion and cheese.

Between two sheets of parchment paper, roll out the dough.
Line each tartlet tin with the dough. Prick the bottom of the tartlet using a fork and bake it 10 minutes.
Pour the vegetables, cheese and eggs mixture in each tartlet. Cook for 20 more minutes until the top is lightly brown. Serve warm accompanied with a green mix salad.

BON APPÉTIT!

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