"A gourmet who thinks of calories is like a tart who looks at her watch." - James Beard
It's been a very busy month around here, so I didn't have time to make a new tart in September. Instead, I thought I'd browse the archives for seasonal Autumn tarts I've made in the past.
There are some real winners here!
This Butternut Squash Tart with Sage, Honey & Chilis is really easy and makes a tasty, fancy appetizer or light lunch.
Stone fruits are still in season here in Ontario, and these Plum Tarts with Honey and Black Pepper are a sweet and sour treat.
This Roasted Vegetable Tarte Tatin takes a little more effort, but it is so beautiful and delicious, it's well worth it.
I can't get enough butternut squash at this time of year, so here's another Butternut Squash Tart, this time with mushrooms and Gruyere.
Little Beet, Cheddar & Apple Tarts on puff pastry are a simple treat for a savoury dessert or snack.
Tarte flambée, or Flammekueche is similar to pizza and makes a wonderful dinner when nights get cooler.
Carrots are in season and I love the way this Carrot and Herb Tart uses a variety of coloured carrots with the green of fresh herbs.
And, finally, it isn't really fall without some pumpkin spice. These Pumpkin Spice Tarts have a gingersnap crust I love.
Get outside and enjoy the season!
I know I've been taking the easy route with these tarts of the month, but this is the easiest one of all! Just a few ingredients make a sweet and sour tart an a sprinkling of Maldon salt and black pepper add a savoury twist.
This recipe is from Bon Appetit and makes six tarts. They look and taste fancy enough for company but they only take a few minutes to throw together and bake.
Here's what you need:
The other night after work I was planning a simple shrimp pasta dinner but realized a basket of plums was becoming overripe and needed to be used. I'd been thinking of shrimp for dinner but an online search for shrimp and plums didn't turn up anything appealing. I did find this recipe on Epicurious for pork tenderloin with plum chutney. It called for the pork to be wrapped in pancetta or prosciutto, which I didn't have, but I did have some leftover bacon from the weekend that needed to be used, so perfect! This was a lot more involved than I'd been planning but it wasn't too much trouble and it was so delicious it was worth the effort!
For the plum chutney you'll need plums, an onion, apple cider vinegar, ginger, garlic, brown sugar, mustard seeds and a bay leaf.
I used these local blue plums but any plums will do. You can peel them if you want but it's not like the queen is coming over. I don't know if I'd even peel plums for her.
Pit and slice the plums. You can see some of these are a bit mushy. Perfect for cooking.
Slice an onion and sauté in a little oil until soft.
Throw in a tablespoon of mustard seeds and toast for a few seconds.
Add in about 1/3 cup of brown sugar, 1/4 cup cider vinegar, a tablespoon of minced garlic and the same of minced ginger, 1/4 cup of water and a bay leaf.
Simmer a few minutes and add in the plums. Those skins will give it a beautiful colour as it cooks.
Cover and simmer 8 minutes, then uncover and let it simmer and thicken for about 20 minutes.
It will be a lovely, thick chutney once it's done.
Meanwhile, prepare your pork tenderloin.
Mince 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary and mix with a tablespoon of dried herbes de Provence and a tablespoon of olive oil.
Rub this all over the pork tenderloin.
Now you'll need about 6 slices of bacon (or pancetta or prosciutto).
Carefully wrap the bacon around the pork until it is completely covered.
Secure each bacon slice with a toothpick or use kitchen twine.
Grill the pork over high heat about 8-10 minutes and then move to low heat for another 15-20 minutes until cooked through. Tip from the griller: it'll be very smoky and you may see flames when you first put the pork on high.
Once cooked, cover in foil and let it rest while you rewarm the chutney.
Remove the toothpicks and use a very sharp knife to slice the pork so you don't shred the bacon.
Slice into medallions. We're serving this with grilled zucchini and a wild rice and basmati blend.
Top the pork with the plum chutney.
For this unexpectedly fancy weeknight dinner we also broke out a nice bottle of wine. The bacon and herb wrapped pork was amazing, we'll definitely use this technique again. The chutney was a nice touch and a great way to use up ripe fruit.
