Friends & Feasts: Pumpkin & Feta Tart

Pumpkin Feta Tart (01) by MeetaK


Thanksgiving came and went but there is really no time to rest! Christmas is around the corner and everyone is feeling merry. At least I hope everyone is. Although I really like Thanksgiving, Christmas to me has something magical about it.

Be it the wonderful lit up windows in the snow covered houses, or the spicy fragrance that fill the streets of the Christmas market or simply the gleaming eyes of enchanted children, enamored by the "ho! ho! ho!" of Santa Claus, or even listening to Wham!'s "Last Christmas" for the trillionth time on the radio, Christmas time brings on a special cheer and spirit in me.


I really enjoy the entire December month. Because as soon as December 1st comes along, I know it's time to bake, cook and decorate. OK I do this all year round but during the weeks counting up to Christmas the entire house looks warm and cosy with dimmed candle lights, decorated with mistletoe and berries and the sweet scent of cinnamon, cardamom and vanilla lingers in the entire house.

It's also the time of month where friends will drop in for Advent tea or after a nice long winter walk we spontaneously invite friends to stay for supper. So it's always good to have cookies, cakes and quick snacks around the house.

Although I always add a lot of affection and care into my cooking and baking, somehow during the Christmas weeks I feel especially close to my kitchen. The dishes, cakes, desserts and cookies I create during this time carries more thought and care, peppered with a little more feeling and spiced with slightly more love. Maybe in my crazy mind I hope that the people I share my creations with might get infected with my merriness. Tis the season to be merry - after all.

So, I hope a tart like this will spread more warmth, joy and affection among everyone I share this with. Layered with the sweetness of pumpkin and topped off with a crumbling of salty feta cheese, which offers the perfect counterpoint to the pumpkin. Vegetarians would leave it as it is but for the bacon lovers among you, adding a handful of cubed crispy bacon pieces enhances the flavor, giving a new dimension to the tart.

It's perfect on it's own for a lovely supper with friends and a glass of wine, but it also makes an extraordinary side to your grand Christmas turkey or it would look elegantly at home on the New Year's buffet. This type of flexibility makes it the ideal dish for entertaining with friends and feasts, using produce fresh from the Farmer's Market.



Reminder!



Come join me for a Traditional Feast this month. Bring along your favorite dish to celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanuka or Diwali.

Details can be found here.
Deadline: December 3rd.



Ingredients
Printable version here.

Pumpkin Feta Tart (05) by MeetaK


Makes 2 tarts for tart forms of 22 cm diameter each.

300 g + additional handful all-purpose flour
150 g soft butter
A pinch of salt
50 ml milk
1 kg Hokkaido pumpkin - cut in thin slices
300 g sour cream
100 g Crème fraiche
5 eggs
200 g feta cheese - cubed
Salt and pepper
Grated fresh nutmeg
Dried thyme



Method

Quickly combine flour, butter, pinch of salt and milk into a homogeneous dough. You can use your food processor or your kitchen machine for this. Form the dough into a large ball, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees C. Butter your tart or spring forms. On a floured surface roll out the dough and spread the dough out into the forms. Spread the pumpkin slices on to the dough.

In a bowl whisk together the crème fraiche, sour cream and eggs. Season generously with salt, pepper and nutmeg, then pour the mixture over the pumpkin. Spread the feta cheese over the top and sprinkle with some dried thyme. Place in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 40-50 minutes.

If the top starts to darken simply place a sheet of baking paper over the top of the tart.

Optional: Add about 200 g of bacon cubes with the feta cheese to the tart for a fantastic smoky flavor.



Verdict

Pumpkin Feta Tart (06) by MeetaK


A fantastic harmony of flavors are combined to give a irresistible tart. We enjoyed this with chilled white wine and I think I was really able to spread the merry and joyous sentiment around our dinner table.



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27 comments:

  1. Even though I too bake all year round (everyday, practically!!), there's just something about baking during the holiday season that's so magical and fun - being surrounded by great family and lovely decorations is always a nice backdrop for baking scrumptious goodies :0)

    Wow, that pumpkin & feta tart photographs quite nicely!!

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  2. Last year turned out to be Johanna's pumpkin and blue cheese tart year. This year will now be officially known as Meeta's pumpkin and feta cheese tart year:)

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  3. Meeta, that pumpkin tart looks fantastic. I love that orange tea lights in the background.
    Great colors!!

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  4. Look how festive those pics look. Beautiful as always Meeta.

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  5. Oh my gosh... pumpkin and feta... and tart! Heaven. That sounds so delicious!

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  6. This is so different than anything I've ever tried before. It sounds so warm and comforting!

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  7. OH MY.

    OH MY.

    OHMYOHMYOHMY.

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  8. Meeta, that looks delightful....would have no problem digging into that at all...gorgeous pictures.

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  9. I love last Christmas too, boy brings back great memories, Wish I was your neighbour would have been treated to all your exoctic and beautiful creations.
    T's truly a season to enjoy and celebrate.

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  10. I'm not much of a baker, but I really think this looks so delicious that I will have to try it!

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  11. This is a very beautiful tart. It looks absolutely delicious!

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  12. You are such a gracious and thoughful hostess.

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  13. I would never have thought that these two ingredients would go so well together - your tart looks delicious, Meeta!

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  14. Hi Meeta wonderful dish, and pic absoulte delight!! BTW i have emailed you with my post for monthly mingle event, can you let me know if you got it? Thanks

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  15. Now there are two things I would have never thought to put together but it looks simply divine.

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  16. I can't wait for christmas to spend it with my family. I have so much to bake next week, that I just don't know how it going to be. May be a nice, conforting pumpkin tart like yours is wjat I need.

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  17. Great useage of Pumpkin, Meeta. Fantastic.

    Lovely warming photography too, which is nice since the Boiler in my house has been broken for 3 days now.

    I love your napkins too, btw.

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  18. Now, I haven't paired pumpkin and feta, but I know butternut squash and feta is great together, so I'm excited about trying this one, Meeta. The colors are especially festive for this season as well. Thanks!

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  19. all your pics look wonderful meeta if u dint mind can u tell which software u use for editing photos

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  20. Golly, Meeta, this is really lovely. I would not have thought to put these two together. I would think you could call this a tart or a quiche! Either way it seems divine.

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  21. Oh my gosh, what an amazing recipe. It looks beautiful and I can taste it in my mind. I am going to give this tart a try, with the bacon! yum! Thank you.

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  22. your photograhs always invite me more than your ingredients to try a piece of what you serve!:)

    Beautiful pie tart..great combo, nice colors...

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  23. Thanks so much for all your comments. Trust me the feta pumpkin is an awesome combo. Hope you all will come back and telly me all about it. Hugs!

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  24. This looks amazing...I'm linking to you in my blog, I hope that's okay!

    NAOmni

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Thank you for visiting What's For Lunch, Honey? and taking time to browse through my recipes, listen to my ramblings and enjoy my photographs. I appreciate all your comments, feedback and input. I will answer your questions to my best knowledge and respond to your comments as soon as possible.

In the meantime I hope you enjoy your stay here and that I was able to make this an experience for your senses.

Hugs
Meeta