Pumpkin and thyme tart

This tart is a riff of a basic I have been cooking since I started catering; a shamelessly shop-bought pastry case full of vegetables and a quiche like filling. Sometimes there is cheese, sometimes there is spice, there is always delicious.

They seem to be popular with the resident toddler, but most importantly of all, they are a great way to use of random vegetables that always, always end up in the fridge; in this case a pumpkin, but butternut squash would work just as well. 

On top of all this, a good tart is an excellent centrepiece for a food offering at a party, particularly if you are feeding a lot of vegetarians. Indeed, for many a year, tarts were at the centre of what I offered here in the Little Pink Kitchen. They can be served hot or cold, with salad or soup, whatever way you want. I do hope you enjoy this one.

Pumpkin and thyme tart

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Ingredients

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• 1 sheet ready-rolled puff pastry
•  

  1/2 large pumpkin or butternut squash

• 1 onion
• 1 tablespoon light olive oil
• 3 eggs
• 250ml double cream
• 5 sprigs thyme
• 50g strong cheddar cheese (optional, I didn’t have any this time because I appear to share my house with a family of mice)
• Salt and pepper

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Instructions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees.
2. Peel and chop the pumpkin into large chunks.
3. Chop the onion into thick slices.
4. Place the vegetables on a baking tray and mix in the oil.
5. Bake for 20 minutes.
6. Line a cake tin with the pastry, and top with the roast veg.
7. Whisk together the eggs and cream with a generous pinch of salt and a good grind of pepper.
8. Strip the leaves from the thyme and add to the egg mixture.
9. Pour the mixture over the vegetables and trim any excess pastry (you could be a better person than me and make those sodding pinwheels the instagram mums do).
10. Sprinkle over the cheesier using.
11. Place in the oven for 30 minutes, until golden brown.
12. Serve.