This butternut squash tart is made with a flaky puff pastry crust topped with creamy cashew cheese, roasted butternut squash, garlic and sage. It's absolutely delicious and can be served as an appetizer or vegan holiday main dish.
- 1 ½ cups raw cashews, soaked in water 4 to 8 hours, drained and rinsed
- ½ cup unflavored and unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 garlic clove (Note 1)
- ½ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 1 pound fresh butternut squash, sliced into bite-sized ¼ inch thick wedges (Note 2)
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 garlic bulb, broken into cloves and peeled
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 (approximately 8 ounce) sheet frozen vegan puff pastry, thawed (Note 3)
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
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Preheat the oven to 400°F.
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Place all of the ingredients for the cashew cheese into a blender or food processor bowl fitted with an s-blade. Blend until smooth. Taste-test the mixture and season it with more salt if needed.
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Arrange the butternut squash slices on a baking sheet and drizzle them with a teaspoon of olive oil. Sprinkle the squash lightly with salt and pepper.
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Place the garlic cloves into a small oven safe dish or skillet and toss them with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
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Place the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface and use a rolling pin to roll it into a 9 x 13 inch rectangle. Carefully transfer the rectangle to a baking sheet.
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Use a fork to poke holes in the puff pastry, spacing them 1 to 2 inches apart, then spread the cashew mixture evenly over the puff pastry, leaving about a ½ inch border around the edges.
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Place the baking sheets with the puff pastry and squash into the oven, along with the dish containing the garlic and olive oil. (Note 4)
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Bake everything for about 20 minutes, but keep an eye on the oven just in case the items finish at different times. The puff pastry is done when it has puffed and turned golden brown around the edges. The squash is done when it can be easily pierced with a fork. The garlic is done when it turns golden brown.
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Distribute the roasted squash and garlic over the cashew cheese mixture on the puff pastry, discarding any excess oil used for cooking the garlic. Drizzle the squash with balsamic vinegar, sprinkle with salt and pepper, then with fresh sage.
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Slice and serve the tart.
- You can take one clove from the bulb of garlic that you use for roasting if you'd like.
- You can buy a 1 ½ pound butternut squash for this, or buy a larger squash and just use the neck, saving the rest for another purpose (preferred). If you choose the latter, cut the neck into ¼ inch thick rounds, then cut the rounds into quarters to create wedges. You should have about 3 cups of slices.
- Pepperidge Farm puff pastry is vegan.
- If you can, place the puff pastry and squash on the upper rack, and the garlic on the lower rack. Everything should fit in most ovens, but if you have a smaller oven you can roast the squash first.