Winter Salad of Mâche, Belgian Endive, Apple, Walnuts & Roquefort

At the first farmers’ market of the new year, one of the growers brought mâche…a beautiful and delicious lettuce that has at times and by some been considered a weed (because of its tendency to spring up in the fields where corn and other cereal crops are grown).  As with most things food, the French know better and have been eating it for a long time.  Patricia Wells tells us in her book At Home in Provence that it was shepherds who first brought it to the table—having observed their flocks nibbling on a patch with gusto and having decided to give it a try.   Two of the other names for mâche reveal these interesting bits of lore:  corn salad and lamb’s lettuce.  By whatever name you know it, if you have tasted it, you probably think it is delicious—slightly nutty, with a soft, buttery texture. 

 As I think about it, I am surprised this is the first time I have noticed it at the farmers’ market—I assume anything that could be construed as a weed would not be too difficult to grow.  It is of course possible that I have just missed it.  Mâche is a cold/cool weather crop and this is the first year that I have regularly patronized a winter market. 

When I saw it, even though I didn’t really know what I was going to do with it, I grabbed a box.   I love mâche…and this was a pristinely lovely example of it.  It is true that I occasionally see a box of Organic Girl mâche at the grocery store.  But it is not regularly available.  And while it is generally a good product, as with most things, it can’t really compare to what a local grower can provide.  Whereas the mass produced stuff can be flimsy and succumb to decay fairly rapidly, the rosettes I purchased had a substance and life that kept them in fine condition for more than a week (stored air-tight, with a barely damp paper towel)…  Plenty of time to decide how I was going to best enjoy it.

In the end it was a salad in Patricia Wells' aforementioned book that provided my inspiration.  I was thinking about the mâche…and what I was going to make with it…one evening while I was shopping.  In my mind’s eye I saw a picture from her book.  It included mâche rosettes, along with the classic trio of Belgian endive, walnuts, and Roquefort.  I had everything but the cheese, so I grabbed a wedge.

When I finally made my salad, I decided it needed a bit of apple, so I diced up a Pink Lady and added it along with everything else.  Pink Ladies are my favorite snacking apple…and thus something I always have on hand…but Honeycrisps would be equally good.   The crisp, juicy, sweet-tart apple was the perfect touch.  Patricia Wells uses a cream based dressing for her salad, but I chose to use a tangy mustard vinaigrette that I already had on hand (you may have it too, if you have made the other apple and endive salad I posted a month ago…).

If you have never tasted mâche, I hope you will seek it out.  If you are unable to find it, I think this salad would be delicious with arugula instead.  Many people suggest substituting watercress for mâche.  But I think the nutty character of arugula is more in keeping with the flavor profile of mâche.  Watercress can be quite peppery—and I don’t find mâche to be peppery at all (slightly bitter, perhaps…but not peppery).   That said…watercress would probably be delicious in this salad…different…but delicious.  To be honest though, I hope you won’t have to find a substitute.  I hope that a grower at your market has some exceptionally beautiful mâche…so that you will have the chance to experience this delightful little green at its best.

Salad of Mâche, Belgian Endive, Apple, Walnuts & Roquefort

For the vinaigrette:
2 T. Champagne vinegar
1 small shallot, peeled and finely minced (1 1/2 to 2 T.)
1/4 t. salt, or to taste
1 t. Dijon mustard
6 T. extra-virgin olive oil

For the salad:

3 1/2 to 4 oz. mâche rosettes, washed and spun dry

1 large (7 to 8 oz.) apple—choose something juicy, crisp and sweet-tart (like a Pink Lady or Honey Crisp)

2 heads Belgian Endive (about 8 oz.)

1 c. (4 oz.) walnuts, lightly toasted and coarsely broken

4 oz. Roquefort

Make the vinaigrette:  Place the vinegar in a small bowl with the shallots and salt.  Set aside for five minutes or so to let the shallots soften a bit. Add the mustard and whisk until smooth. While whisking constantly, add the olive oil in a thin stream to form a slightly thickened, emulsified dressing.  Taste and correct the seasoning with salt.  Set aside. (You will have more vinaigrette than you need for this salad--but it keeps well and it is a nice all purpose vinaigrette.)

From top and moving clockwise:  an intact rosette....
a rosette flipped over to show the root/core....bits of the trimmed
root/core....trimmed leaves

To make the salad, trim the root ends of the mâche rosettes.  It is ok to leave the rosettes intact, as long as there is no root attached.  You may also trim them in such a way that the leaves are all separate.  I like to trim it so that the larger leaves are separate and a few small rosettes remain. 

Wash the apple. Halve lengthwise and remove the core.  Cut each half into a neat quarter inch dice. 

Remove any bruised outer leaves of the endive and discard.  Halve the endive and remove the cores (by cutting a "v" shape around the core on each half with the tip of a paring knife).  Place each half face down on a cutting board and slice 1/4-inch thick on a short diagonal. 

Place the mâche, apples, endive and walnuts in a large bowl.   Crumble in the Roquefort.  Drizzle with some of the vinaigrette and season well with salt and pepper.  Carefully toss so that all of the ingredients are thoroughly coated with the vinaigrette.  Add more vinaigrette as needed.  Taste and correct the seasoning.  If the salad seems well-seasoned and well-dressed, but still tastes a bit flat, give it a squeeze of lemon and toss again.  Mound the salad on a platter or divide among individual salad plates.  Serves 4 to 6.

Note:  The mâche and walnuts may be prepared ahead.  The apples and endive must be cut right before serving as they will both oxidize after being cut.  

Printable Recipe

Some Thoughts on Grain Bowls… Three Examples… and One Vinaigrette

For years I have been teaching…and posting…recipes and ideas for grain pilafs and salads.  To be honest, it has very little to do with the fact that whole grains are supposed to be good for me.  It just so happens that I like them.   Whether the menu includes one of the recently reintroduced grains (freekeh or farro)…a done-to-death trendy grain (quinoa)…or a soft porridge-like grain (polenta or risotto)…I’m there…spoon in hand.  I have never thought much about why I like grains so much (clearly not everyone feels the same way).  But in trying to guess at the reason, I have decided that it probably has something to do with the fact that I grew up on hot breakfast cereals. 

My mother never purchased any of the boxed, sugar-saturated cold cereals that many of my peers were enjoying.  If I wanted a cold cereal, I had a choice of Grape Nuts or Miniature Shredded Wheat.  Besides the fact that neither of these appealed to me very much (of the two, Grape Nuts was my preference), I found any cold cereal pretty off-putting since they were all reduced to mush in short order by the addition of the milk.  A bowl of hot cereal (particularly during the winter months) was vastly preferable.  Better yet was a soft cooked egg with buttered toast—even though I grew up in the era when everyone was removing eggs from their diets for “health” reasons.  (I count myself lucky that my mother never succumbed to this insanity.)

To this day I adore a soft cooked or poached egg on toast….for any meal of the day.  It did not occur to me until I began to consider why I like whole grains so much that—like a soft, runny egg—they are for me what we all mean when we say “comfort food”…. a food that conjures up memories of a time when someone else was taking care of us and making us feel warm, full and safe.

It is unfortunately not within my power to turn any food into a source of this kind of comfort for anyone.  But I can and will continue to try and share my love for grains by presenting them in their best light:  properly cooked…properly seasoned…and accompanied by all manner of delicious ingredients. 

All of this brings me to my recent obsession with grain bowls.  If you follow me on Instagram, you have probably noticed.  I am late to the party when it comes to the grain bowl.  (They have been “a thing” for several years now.)  But I am, as I have just pointed out, not late to grains.  And the fact of the matter is that there is really very little difference between a grain bowl and a grain pilaf or salad (both of which can be found in abundance on my blog).  As a friend and I were discussing the other day, a grain bowl is to a grain pilaf or salad what a composed salad is to a tossed salad—the ingredients in the former are arranged artfully (one hopes) on the plate and those in the latter are mixed up before they ever hit the plate.  All of the basic “rules” of how to create one will apply to the other.

The greatest advantage of a grain bowl over a pilaf or salad is they let you, the eater, create different combinations of flavor in every single bite.  To me, this adds in a way to the child-like pleasure I seem to derive from grains.  It is almost like being given permission to play with your food:  Taking your fork and dipping it here…dragging it there…in each bite combining the tastes and textures that please you most. 

There are of course some basic tips that will help you build a delicious grain bowl, but rather than write my usual “how to” post (many others have already done that….The Kitchn, Fine Cooking, The New York Times, Food52, and Williams Sonoma…just to name a few)….I thought I would illustrate how to create a grain bowl by sharing how I put together a few that we have enjoyed recently.  (I am including component recipes either as links to old posts in the text…or at the bottom of this post.)

It all started a few weeks ago when I noticed a colorful looking dish in Feast Magazine that featured some favorite winter vegetables (sweet potatoes and cauliflower).  The dish didn’t include any grains, but it was artfully arranged in a bowl…just like a grain bowl.  In addition to the “look” of the dish, the presence of some black beans made me think of brown rice.  I like brown rice, but I don’t cook with it very often (I have only featured it once on my blog).  The main reason for this is it takes so long to cook when compared to other grains I like.  But I don’t shy away from long cooking times in other ingredients, so I’m not sure why I would with brown rice.  With a little advance planning, the cooking time isn’t a problem.  And it is so good in combination with black beans that I thought the little extra time involved would be worth it.    

The dish that inspired my grain bowl included a generous drizzle of a sauce of pureed cashews and almonds seasoned with ginger, turmeric, garlic and lemon.  I decided to deconstruct this sauce and use the spices to season the roasted vegetables (along with a little added coriander), toast and chop the cashews for final garnish with minced parsley, cilantro and scallions and drizzle the whole thing with a lime vinaigrette seasoned with garlic and cumin.  A scoop of plain yogurt (I used traditional full-fat…but Greek would be nice…or Labneh…) was the final touch.  It was fantastic.

Another grain bowl I made recently was inspired by a breakfast out with some friends.  We were at a local coffee shop…and it was late morning….right about the time I’m hungry for a little something sweet.  So that’s what I had…a sweet and tender little financier.  Both of my friends ordered a delicious looking (and tasting!...I got to have a bite) avocado toast with a runny fried egg.  Well…I couldn’t get that toast out of my mind all day.  So for dinner I decided make a grain bowl featuring avocado and egg.  

My grain of choice for my avocado and egg grain bowl was freekeh (currently my favorite grain).  I cooked it using the pilaf method with some diced onion and seasoned it with a little allspice and cinnamon.  Besides the sliced avocado and a poached egg, I added a pile of carrots roasted with olive oil and a smidge of honey, a spoonful of harissa, a generous drizzle of leftover cumin and lime vinaigrette, and a final shower of sliced cilantro and toasted, broken pine nuts.  This too was excellent. Eggs are wonderful with grain bowls…just remember when you poach (or fry) an egg for a grain bowl to make sure that you leave the yolk nice and runny (it makes a great sauce!)

The most recent grain bowl I made is a great example of how one of the best uses for a grain bowl is as a way to use up a few leftovers…particularly for one person.  So often I find myself with only enough leftovers for one serving of something.  If, for example, we have eaten all the chicken I roasted, sometimes there will be one lonely serving of the vegetables that were roasted with the chicken left over.  I have often used odds and ends like this in a green salad for lunch (and will continue to do so on occasion)…but a grain bowl is much more substantial…and more along the lines of what I’m craving during the colder months. 

Last week I was in just this situation with a single serving of leftover roasted sweet potatoes and cauliflower (from my brown rice grain bowl)….  And since I had grain bowls on the brain, I made one from my lunch.  I cooked some quinoa (which only takes 25 minutes at most…bulgur would have been equally delicious, and even quicker), added a handful of arugula, some yogurt (always a good idea with grains, in my opinion) some julienned apple (crunchy, sweet and tart…and a perfect partner for cauliflower and sweet potato), the remains of my toasted and crushed pine nuts and then drizzled the whole thing with some of the last of my cumin-lime vinaigrette (but a mustard based vinaigrette would have been fine…or simply a good drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon or lime to finish it off). I particularly liked the raw and fresh additions of the apple and arugula in this one (and should mention that I took the time to season and dress them with a little of the vinaigrette before adding them to the bowl).

I hope that these examples will give you some ideas for assembling your own grain bowls.  Obviously I made great use of one, particular vinaigrette (recipe below).  But even this is instructive in that getting into the habit of keeping favorite vinaigrettes and condiments on hand is a good way to get a jump on future grain bowls.  And don’t feel like you have to have a freshly cooked grain in order to have a grain bowl.  I was able to cook some quinoa for my lunch the other day because I was working from home.  But if you don’t have this luxury (and you would like to have grain bowls for lunch), get into the habit of always making a little extra whenever you cook a grain for your dinner.

I’ll end with a few miscellaneous pointers...things that I try to keep in mind when I’m putting together a grain bowl:  First, always think about contrasts—both in tasted and in texture.  You don’t want a big bowl of all the same flavor profiles or something that is all soft…or all crunchy.  Also, make sure everything goes together/makes sense…as always, less is more.  You’ll be much happier with your bowl if it has distinct tastes that complement each other well than you will be if you just have a big mish-mash of indistinguishable leftovers in a bowl.  If you have one of each of the elements (grain, vegetable, protein, fresh and/or crunchy/chewy garnish, sauce/condiment/vinaigrette) don’t add something else just because you have it.

Finally, keep your eyes open for inspiration.  When you have a grain bowl at a restaurant or café, make a point to note what it is that you like about it…the flavors, the textures, how it’s dressed, etc.  Whenever you have leftovers, think about how you might use them in a grain bowl.  And lastly, take inspiration from everywhere: images and recipes on line, in cookbooks or in a favorite magazine.  Pretty soon you’ll be making such delicious grain bowls at home that you won’t need to go out and pay someone else to make one for you.     

A few recipes/cooking notes for the grain bowls described in this post:

The Grains
I almost always cook grains using the pilaf method--that is, I start by toasting the grain in a bit of hot fat (usually olive oil...about two to three teaspoons per cup of raw grain) in the sauce pan and then after a minute or two adding a hot liquid (lightly salted water or stock).  When the whole thing comes to a rolling boil, cover with a tight lid and reduce the temperature to the lowest setting.  When the grain is tender, turn off the heat and let it continue to steam/rest for five to ten minutes.  The amount of liquid you will need and the cooking time will vary for each grain.  For Brown Rice you need 2 measures of liquid for each measure of rice.  It will take about 40 to 50 minutes to cook.  For quinoa and freekeh I use 1 1/4 to 1 1/3 measures of liquid for every measure of grain.  Quinoa takes 15 to 20 minutes and Freekeh takes 20 to 25 minutes.  Almost all grains benefit from a good rinse under running water before you cook them.  Quinoa must be rinsed or it will be bitter.

In the above bowls I didn't add any seasonings (other than salt) to the brown rice or quinoa.  For the freekeh, I used this favorite recipe (with onion, cinnamon and allspice).  I used brown basmati, white quinoa and cracked freekeh.  

I start with 1/4 cup of raw grain for each person.  You may require more...or less...but that's a good place to start.

Components of 2 grain bowls:  Cooked freekeh, roasted carrots, vinaigrette,
 harissa, cilantro, avocado and pine nuts (eggs not pictured...)

The Black Beans
I used 1/2 cup of cooked black beans for each portion.  You may use canned (be sure you rinse them) or cook your own.  I like to bake beans in a low oven, they require less attention and maintain a better shape.  Soak the beans overnight (or not...they'll just take longer to cook).  Drain and rinse the soaked beans and spread them in a layer no deeper than an inch in a shallow baking dish.  Drizzle with some olive oil, add a few cloves of garlic, several sprigs of thyme and a cinnamon stick.  Cover with boiling water by an inch, cover the pan with foil or a tight fitting lid, and bake at 325 degrees until soft but not falling apart...about 2 hours for black beans.  Add salt when the beans are half cooked.   1 cup of dried beans will make 3 cups of cooked.

Whether you use canned or cook your own, finish the beans by cooking some red onion in a little olive oil until tender and beginning to caramelize (use about 1/4 c. of diced onion for each half cup of cooked beans), adding the beans along with a splash of water or bean cooking liquid (you don't want them to be soup-y...but you don't want them to be dry either) and heating them through.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  (If you use canned beans, consider adding a little minced garlic and a dash of cinnamon to the onions just before adding the beans.)

Spice Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Cauliflower
If you aren't in the habit of roasting vegetables, check out my detailed tutorial.  For the vegetables in my brown rice bowl, I roasted a pound of sweet potatoes with 2/3 of a pound of cauliflower (and as mentioned in the text had extra...this was enough roasted vegetables for 3 or 4 grain bowls).  Peel the sweet potato and trim away the leaves and core from the cauliflower.  Cut the cauliflower into 1 1/2-inch florets.  Cut the sweet potatoes in slabs that are a generous half inch thick and cut the slabs into 1 1/2-inch pieces (so they are roughly the same size as the cauliflower florets).  Place them in a large bowl and add a teaspoon each of ginger and turmeric and a half teaspoon of coriander.  Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and season generously with salt.  Toss until the vegetables are evenly coated with the oil and spices.  If they look dry, add more oil.  Roast in a 450-degree oven (turning once when they are about 2/3 cooked) until tender to the tip of a knife and nicely caramelized...about 20 to 25 minutes.

Cumin-Lime Vinaigrette (Printable version)
Place 1/4 c. of freshly squeezed and strained lime juice in a small bowl.  Smash a fat clove of garlic to a purée with a pinch of salt and add it to the bowl.  Let sit for five to ten minutes (to allow the flavor of the garlic to mellow a bit).  Add a teaspoon of cumin and salt & pepper to taste.  Add 6 T. of olive oil in a thin stream while whisking constantly.  Taste and add salt and pepper as necessary.   Drizzle as generously as you like over your grain bowl...and pass more at the table.  The vinaigrette will keep easily for a week or two in the fridge.  Bring to room temperature and re-whisk before using.

Winter Salad

For some reason, 2017 turned out to be the year of the salad.  As I was thinking about the things I had posted over the past year, it occurred to me that I had written a lot of salad posts.   So I checked.  And I discovered that I had indeed written more about salad than anything else.  This post will be the eighth, making it so that salad will have outnumbered each of my other favorite topics (pasta....cake....pizza...soup....) by at least two to one.  This amazes me.  I mean really...  More salad than pasta?  or cake?....

No one should take this recent preponderance of salad posts as an indication that I will be changing the focus of my blog or the kinds of things I share here.  I will not be giving up cake (or any of my other favorites...) anytime soon.  I love cake!  But the fact is, I love salad too.  And while I have loved cake ever since I had the dexterity to get a fistful of it into my mouth, I have not always loved salad. 

This of course is no surprise to anyone who has visited my blog regularly over the years.  I have written on several occasions about my change of heart towards vegetables, but salad in particular conjures up a vivid memory from my college years.  Like most young women, I put an undue amount of mental energy into worrying about my weight.  One time a friend and I were bemoaning the fact that we just didn’t like to eat in a way that would promote slimness (in the ignorance of youth, the more important consideration of good health was not yet in the forefront of our minds).  Suddenly my friend said, "I want to be a 'salad person'—you know, one of those people who chooses to eat salad because they really like it!"  

If someone had told me then that I would not only come to like salad, but eventually truly love it, I would not have believed them.  But then I hadn't been exposed to very many good salads.  To me the word "salad" meant some sort of permutation of iceberg lettuce, shredded carrots, horse fodder-like nubbins of celery, hot house tomatoes, and stale packaged croutons...all glopped with bottled dressing.  No wonder I didn't like it.  My mother made a shredded carrot salad...and a Waldorf salad...that I liked, but in general my idea of salad was pretty limited...and not very favorable.  It was something you ate because it was "good for you"....which as far as food descriptors go is the kiss of death in my opinion.

But of course salad in its best form is the pinnacle of seasonal eating...  of fresh and raw....   Salad is also about delicious variety.  I could go on at great length about the wide array of foods that can be included in a salad...  the essential textural and flavor contrasts...  how to make a tasty homemade vinaigrette...   And of course, I have done this very thing over the course of the past year.  Whether you already love salad, or are just trying to like it, you should check out some of these old posts (you can find them by looking through the post titles in the side bar for this year, or by going to the salad section of my recipe index).

The salad I'm sharing today is one I taught this month in a class devoted to the foods my family has traditionally had for our Christmas Eve dinner.  Our menu has included a creamy and rich Wild Rice Soup since I was in grade school.  This was served alongside a lovely wreath bread my mother started making when I was in college.  There was also always a frozen cranberry "salad."  It may or may not have included jell-o....  The only thing salad-like about this concoction was the ruffled lettuce leaf upon which the "salad" was placed.  I deleted this item from the menu when I eventually took over holiday food preparation. 

I had never bothered to replace this dish because there is always so much going on Christmas Eve.  But this year, I took the opportunity of the class to come up with something that was more to my liking.  The Belgian Endive, Apple & Celery Salad I came up with is exactly what I'm craving this time of year.  It is crunchy, tangy, juicy.... In a word:  refreshing.  It is the perfect antidote the all the heavy, rich and creamy things the holiday brings.  Furthermore, the ingredients...and the beautiful monochromatic palette of colors....fairly shout "winter," making it a salad that is seasonal eating at its best.

I love this salad.  My class loved the salad.  And my mother loved the salad.  I will definitely be making it part of our Christmas Eve table from now on.  But more than that, because it is so simple...and the ingredients are so easy to keep on hand...I will be making this salad regularly during the winter months.  It really is the perfect winter salad—one that even non-salad people will probably like. 

Winter Salad

For the vinaigrette:
2 T. Champagne vinegar
1 small shallot, peeled and finely minced (1 1/2 to 2 T.)
1/4 t. salt, or to taste
1 t. Dijon mustard
6 T. extra-virgin olive oil

For the salad:
4 stalks of celery (about 7 oz. before trimming)
2 large Granny Smith apples (14 oz.)
4 heads Belgian endive (about 1 lb.)
1/2 c. (3 oz.) golden raisins
Lemon juice, optional/to taste

Make the vinaigrette:  Place the vinegar in a small bowl with the shallots and salt.  Set aside for five minutes or so to let the shallots soften a bit. Add the mustard and whisk until smooth. While whisking constantly, add the olive oil in a thin stream to form a slightly thickened, emulsified dressing.  Taste and correct the seasoning with salt.  Set aside.

To make the salad, trim the ends away from the celery stalks.  Using a vegetable peeler, remove any obtrusive strings from the outside of the ribs.  Cut the stalks into 3 or 4 lengths.  Slice each thinly to make a rough julienne of celery.

Wash the apples. Halve each lengthwise and remove the cores.  Using a mandolin slicer, slice each half thinly, lengthwise. 

Remove any bruised outer leaves of the endive and discard.  Halve the endive and remove the cores (by cutting a "v" shape around the core on each half with the tip of a paring knife).  Place each half face down on a cutting board and slice 1/3-inch thick on a long diagonal. 

Place the celery, apples, endive and raisins in a large bowl.  Drizzle with some of the vinaigrette (start with about 1/3 cup...you will probably need almost all of the vinaigrette, but it is better to start with less) and season well with salt and pepper.  Carefully toss so that all of the ingredients are lightly coated with the vinaigrette.  Add more vinaigrette as needed.  Taste and correct the seasoning.  If the salad seems well-seasoned and well-dressed, but still tastes a bit flat, give it a squeeze of lemon and toss again.  It should taste lively and juicy.  Mound the salad on a platter or divide among individual salad plates.  Serves 6 to 8 as a first course or a side salad.

Note:  The celery may be cut ahead.  The apples and endive must be cut right before serving as they will both oxidize after being cut.  

Printable Recipe

A Savory Winter Squash Tart with Mushrooms & Apples

Over the years I have posted a lot of recipes for savory tarts.  A tender, buttery crust makes an admirable blank canvas for the products of each passing season.   Whether a custard-based, quiche-style tart...or a free form galette...or a simple flat crust topped with cooked vegetables...I love them.   

A selection of local squash...the mottled yellow and green in the center are "Carnival" squash
...my preferred squash for this tart.

This week I will be teaching a class on winter squash and sweet potatoes.  One of my favorite ways to use squash happens to be in a tart...and I will be including a tart in this class.  Most of the time when I put squash in a tart, I leave it in slices or chunks that are roasted (or sautéed) before they are put into the crust.  But this of course isn't the only way to present it and this time I will be turning the squash into a purée—and smearing it onto a flat rectangle of dough where it will act as an edible (and delicious) glue to hold all of the other toppings in place. 

I have posted a couple of other examples of this style of tart...using ricotta instead of squash puree as the "glue."  Both the ricotta and the squash (reinforced with an egg yolk) do a great job of holding the other components in place.  I particularly like using the squash though.  When making such a thin tart, you need to get a lot of bang for your flavor buck in the individual components...and the squash adds a lot of flavor.  It is also the perfect counterpoint to the savory mushrooms and sweet tart apples that make up the rest of the topping.   

If the combination of mushrooms and apples strikes you as odd, I encourage you to try it in this tart.  I think I first encountered this combination in a traditional chicken dish from Normandy.  The dish—Poulet Vallée d'Auge—is a classic French sauté of chicken cooked in stock, cider and cream...with mushrooms and apples.  Every time I eat it I am amazed by the subtlety and balance of this pairing.  Both the apples and the mushrooms are enhanced by it.  The dish would not be the same if it were garnished with just the apples...or just the mushrooms.  It is the same with the tart.

With a small green salad this tart makes a wonderful light dinner...or satisfying lunch.  But since we are on the verge of our annual holiday party season, I have also included instructions at the bottom of the recipe for rolling the crust and building the tart in such a way that you can cut small squares that make a perfect finger food.  Since all of the components (the crust, squash puree, sautéed apples, sautéed mushrooms and candied pepitas) can be made ahead, it would be the perfect thing with which to greet your Thanksgiving guests.  Simply make the components at your leisure in the day or two preceding the feast.  Then, on Thanksgiving morning, build the tarts and place them on a sheet pan in the fridge, baking them as oven space allows, and as close to the arrival of your guests as you can.

Let the holiday cooking and feasting begin. 

Savory Winter Squash Tart with Mushrooms & Apples

1 recipe pâte brisée (below)

1 egg, separated (yolk and white both reserved)

1 T. butter

1 medium shallot, about 1 oz., minced

1 clove of garlic, minced

1/2 t. minced fresh rosemary

3/4 c. (185 g.) Roasted Winter Squash purée (see below—I prefer Carnival Squash in these tartlets)

1/3 c. (1 oz.) finely grated Parmesan

1 large apple (7 to 8 oz.)—something that is sweet-tart and that holds its shape when cooked...like a Braeburn...or a Pink Lady

1 T. butter (more as needed)

6 oz. crimini (or other favorite) mushrooms, sliced 1/4- to 1/3-inch thick

1 T. olive oil (more as needed)

1 T. minced flat leaf parsley

4 oz. goat cheese

3 to 4 T. Candied Pepitas (see below)

Salt & Pepper, to taste

On a lightly floured surface, roll the pastry out into a thin (1/8- to 3/16-inch thick) rectangle that measures at least 10- by 14-inches.  Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and chill for at least 30 minutes.  Before baking trim the pastry sheet to a 9- by 13-inch rectangle.  

Prick all over with a fork.  Beat the egg white until foamy and loose.  Brush the whole surface of the pastry with the beaten egg white and return to the refrigerator until ready to use.

In a small sauté pan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the shallots, garlic and rosemary and cook until very tender and beginning to caramelize.  Let cool.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the squash purée, Parmesan, cooled shallot mixture and yolk.  Season to taste with salt & pepper.  Set aside.

Peel, quarter and core the apple.  Cut each quarter into 5 or 6 lengthwise slices (about 1/4- to 1/3-inch thick).  Sauté the apples in the butter until they are golden and just tender.  (Choose a sauté pan—preferably non-stick—that is just large enough to hold the apple slices in a snug single layer.  Start over medium-high heat, letting the butter melt and waiting to add the apples until the foam subsides.  Toss/turn the apples occasionally and reduce the heat if the apples are browning too much/too quickly.)  Set aside.

If the apples were sautéed in a non-stick pan, wipe out the pan and set it back over high heat.  If not, set a non-stick sauté pan (one that is just large enough to hold the mushrooms in a snug single layer) over high heat.  When the pan is hot, add a tablespoon of olive oil.  Add the mushrooms.  Sauté until the mushrooms start to brown—about 2 minutes.  Add a good pinch of salt and continue to sauté, reducing the heat if the mushrooms threaten to burn...but still maintaining an active sizzle, until the mushrooms are tender and browned...about 5 minutes total.  Remove from the heat and add the parsley.  Transfer the mushrooms to the plate with the apples.  Fold the apples and mushrooms together.  Season to taste with salt & pepper.

When ready to bake the tart, preheat the oven to 375° and adjust the rack to the lower third of the oven.  While the oven heats, build the tart.  Spread the squash mixture over the chilled crust, leaving a half inch border of crust visible all the way around.  

Scatter the apples and mushrooms evenly over the squash.  

Crumble the goat cheese over all.  (The tart may be made a few hours ahead to this point.  Cover and chill.)

Bake the tart on the lowest rack until the cheese is tipped with gold and the edges and bottom crust are golden brown—about 25 to 30 minutes.  Slide the cooked tart onto a wire rack and scatter over some of the candied pepitas, pressing lightly if necessary to help the seeds adhere to the cheese.  Cut and serve warm.  Serves 4 to 6 as an appetizer or light entrée with a salad of baby lettuces or arugula. 

Variation:  If you would like to make this tart into small passed appetizer portions, instead of cutting the sheet of dough into one large rectangle, cut it into three 5- by 9-inch rectangles.  Top the smaller rectangles exactly as you would the large, using a third of each of the components for each smaller rectangle.  Bake as for the large.  To serve, cut each rectangle in half lengthwise and then crosswise four or five times to make 8 to 10 small rectangles out of each tart.  Because each small rectangle will have been cut from the edge of the tart, each piece will be more stable and it will be easy to pick up with the fingers (you will have a total of 24 to 30 rectangles from the whole recipe).

Candied Pepitas:  Place 1/2 t. fennel seed and 1/8 t. coriander seed in a medium sauté pan and toast over medium heat.  When fragrant, transfer to a plate to cool.  Grind in a mortar and pestle.   In a small bowl, combine 1 T. sugar, the toasted fennel & coriander, 1/8 t. cinnamon, a pinch of cayenne and a generous pinch of salt.  Melt 2 teaspoons of butter in a medium sauté pan set over medium heat.  Add 1/2 c. raw pumpkin seeds and toss to coat in the butter.  Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the nuts and toss to coat.  Continue to cook, stirring and tossing until the pumpkin seeds are popping and lightly colored.  Remove the pan from the heat.  Wait 30 seconds.  Drizzle a teaspoon of honey over and toss to coat.  Spread the nuts on a plate to cool. 

(Candied Pepitas adapted from Sunday Suppers at Lucques, by Suzanne Goin)

To Roast a Winter Squash for a Purée: Preheat oven to 375° to 400°.  Halve the winter squash.  Scoop out the seeds and discard.  Place the squash on a baking sheet and brush with olive oil or melted butter.  Season with salt and pepper.   Place the squash in the oven and roast until fork tender and caramelized in spots—about an hour.  When the squash is cool enough to handle, scoop the flesh away from the skin with a spoon.  Purée the flesh in the food processor or pass through a food mill fitted with the fine disc.  A 2 pound squash will produce a scant 2 cups of purée, or about a pound.  Depending on the desired use of the purée, the butter or oil with which the squash is brushed prior to roasting may be augmented with any number of things—honey, molasses, maple syrup or balsamic vinegar—alone or in combination.  If you prefer that the squash not caramelize during the roasting process, either cover with foil or oil the pan, add a splash of water and roast the squash with the cut surfaces down. 

Pâte Brisée (Short Crust Pastry):

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour (6 oz.)
3/8 t. salt
9 T. cold unsalted butter, sliced 1/4-inch thick (4 1/2 oz.)
3 to 4 1/2 T. ice water

Combine the flour and the salt in a medium-sized bowl.  Rub the butter into the flour until the mixture has the look of cornmeal and peas. Drizzle 3 T. ice water over the flour/butter mixture.  Using your hands, fluff the mixture until it begins to clump, adding more water if necessary.  Turn the dough out onto a counter and form into a mound.  Using the heel of your hand, gradually push all of the dough away from you in short forward strokes, flattening out the lumps.  Continue until all of the dough is flat.  Using a bench scraper, scrape the dough off the counter, forming it into a single clump as you do.  Form the finished dough into a thick rectangle.  Wrap in plastic wrap.  Chill for at least 30 minutes.

Printable Recipe

Winter Squash, Apple & Sausage Pizza

My first thought as we ate the pizza I made for dinner the other night was that it was really good and maybe I should post it to my blog.  My second thought was that even though it was good, it was just a simple pizza...and I had posted other pizzas...and well, maybe I would just let it pass.  Then I thought about the comment I made in my final post of 2016 about sharing more of the simple and basic dishes that appear on my table day in and day out...even if they aren't unusual or "chef-y".  And suddenly this simple pizza seemed like a good way to kick off the year.

Since Christmas, I have not been as focused as I usually am on food.  I have had a little extra time off and have been trying to use that time to attend to things that have fallen by the wayside for too long.  Dinners have been simple, hurried, pantry affairs almost every night.  I make a trip to the store occasionally to make sure I have some basics (seasonal vegetables, fruit, bacon/sausage/ham, grains/pastas, canned tomatoes/beans, eggs/dairy/cheese) and wing it from there to make a pasta, a soup, a salad, a pizza.....  

If pizzas aren't on your list of easy, weeknight meals, they should be.  Because they can be topped with almost any cooked ingredient, they are a great way to use up odds and ends of vegetables and cheeses.  If you have foods on hand that you like to eat, odds are you can come up with a flavorful combination for a pizza.  Just make your dough (more on that in a minute), choose a sauce (plain or seasoned olive oil, tomato sauce, reduced cream, seasoned ricotta...even a vegetable purée) and prepare/cook your toppings while the oven heats.

If you think your oven won't produce a good pizza, think again.  If you have a pizza stone and your oven will hold a temperature of 500° F, your oven is capable of producing a respectable pizza.  If you don't have a stone, you should take some of your holiday gift money (doesn't everyone get gift certificates these days?) and buy one.  It is a very small investment...and one that you won't regret.  While you're at it, pick up a peel (not strictly necessary—I made good pizza for years without one—but using one will produce a superior crust).  Then, stop at the grocery store on the way home and buy a bag of semolina flour (you can of course dust your peel with flour...but a semolina dusted peel is pretty much stick proof).  With practice you will be making consistently delicious pizzas in no time.

As for the dough....if you know how to use your food processor, you can make delicious pizza dough.  I have been making pizza dough for years the old fashioned way—mixing and kneading by hand.  But a couple of years ago I started to make it in the food processor because it's just so quick and easy.  I still occasionally make it by hand....but there is really no reason to other than that I occasionally want to slow down and enjoy the process of kneading.  (I give directions for both methods in the recipe.)  If you are still dubious about making your own, you can probably find a grocery store that sells freshly made dough in their prepared foods department.  I know that Whole Foods does this, and I'm sure there are others.

As I said, last night's pizza was particularly good.  And since it included ingredients that I always have on hand during the fall and winter months (a chunk of winter squash...a Pink Lady apple...shallots...sausage...Dubliner cheese....), I know I will be making it again.  I hope you will make it too...or better yet, come up with a new favorite of your own using the ingredients you like to keep on hand.

Winter Squash, Apple & Sausage Pizza

10 to 12 oz. butternut squash (half of a small to medium squash), peeled, seeded and cut in a 1/2-inch dice (you should have a scant 2 cups)

1 small sweet-tart apple (I like Pink Lady), peeled and cut in a half inch dice (about 1 cup)
Olive oil

Salt & freshly ground pepper
1 medium shallot, peeled and thinly sliced using a mandolin

pinch of pepper flakes
1/ 2 t. minced rosemary
1 3 to 4 oz. link cooked sausage (see note), halved and sliced 1/4-inch thick cross-wise on a slight diagonal

1 ball of pizza dough (see below), rested
5 oz. Dubliner cheese (see note), coarsely grated

Place the squash and apples in a bowl and drizzle with just enough olive oil to coat.  Season with salt and pepper and toss well.  Transfer to a small baking sheet (a quarter sheet pan is perfect) and roast in a preheated 450° oven until tender and beginning to brown—about 20 to 25 minutes.

When the vegetables are done roasting, scatter the shallots, rosemary, pepper flakes and sausage over and toss to combine.  Increase the oven temperature to 500°.

Build the pizza: On a lightly floured surface, roll or stretch the dough out into a 12-inch circle. Transfer the dough to a pizza pan, baking sheet or pizza peel that has been dusted with semolina (or flour...or cornmeal).  Spread a thin layer of oil over the crust. Scatter with half of the cheese, followed by the topping mixture, followed by the remaining cheese

If using a pizza pan or baking sheet, place the pizza in the pan on a pre-heated pizza stone in a pre-heated 500° oven. Bake until the crust is golden brown on the bottom and the cheese is bubbling, about 12 to 15 minutes. To insure a crisp crust, slide the pizza off of the pan and directly onto the pizza stone as soon as the crust is set (after 4 or 5 minutes). 

If using a peel, slide the pizza directly onto the preheated baking stone. Bake until the crust is golden brown on the bottom and the cheese is bubbling—about 8 to 10 minutes. 

When the pizza is done, transfer to a cutting board and cut into wedges and serve.

Note: 

• I like Aidells Roasted Garlic & Gruyère Smoked Chicken Sausage, but any favorite cooked sausage that will go with the squash and apples would be fine. Kielbasa would be excellent. You could also cook a fresh Italian sausage link and cut it in a similar fashion. 
• I love the nutty taste of Dubliner and I always have it on hand. It is a great snacking and melting cheese. It is particularly good with the squash and apples on this pizza...but there are other cheeses that would work well. A good, sharp Cheddar...Fontina...low-moisture Mozzarella...etc. 

Pizza Dough

1/2 cup warm water (100º-110º)

1 1/8 t. (1/2 package) active dry yeast

1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 T. olive oil

1/2 t. salt

 

Combine the water, yeast, and 3/4 cup of the flour in a large bowl. Whisk until smooth. Add the oil, salt and another half cup of the flour. Stir with a wooden spoon to form a soft dough that holds its shape. Sprinkle some of the remaining quarter cup of flour on a smooth surface. Scrape the dough out of the bowl and sprinkle with a bit more flour. Knead the dough, adding just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking, until the dough is smooth and springs back when pressed lightly with a finger—about 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise until it has doubled in size—about 1 hour. Punch down the dough. At this point you may use the dough immediately or cover the bowl again with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 12 to 24 hours. Pull the dough out of the refrigerator to let it warm up a bit, about an hour before baking the pizza.

 

When ready to make the pizza, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a ball. Cover with a towel and let rest for 10 to 20 minutes. The dough is now ready to be shaped, topped and baked.

 

(Crust adapted from The New Basics Cookbook by Julee Rosso & Sheila Lukins)

 

Food Processor Method:  Place the water and yeast in a small bowl and let sit until the yeast has dissolved.  Place 1 1/4 cups plus 2 T. of the flour and salt in the food processor fitted with the metal blade and pulse to blend.  Add the oil and yeast/water mixture and pulse until the dough is homogenous.  Begin to run the mixture in long pulses until the dough is smooth and elastic—it shouldn't take more than a minute.  If the dough seems wet and sticky, add some of the remaining 2 T. of flour a bit at a time, pulsing after each addition.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and give it a few kneads by hand.

Variation for a Whole Wheat Crust: Instead of unbleached all-purpose flour, use 3/4 c. bread flour and 1/2 to 3/4 c. whole wheat flour (any whole wheat flour will work, but I like “white” whole wheat flour).

Printable Recipe