Roasted sweet squash, creamy ricotta, salty blue cheese, and cranberries complement each other beautifully in this tart, which can go with a bowl of soup or a cocktail. Store-bought puff pastry takes the heavy lifting out of the recipe, but it should be made with butter. Other kinds of puff pastry aren’t as good.
Serves 10-12
Vegetable oil (for the baking sheet)
1 peeled butternut squash half (about 1¼ pounds), cut into ¾-inch cubes
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary, plus more for garnish
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage, plus more for garnish
Salt and pepper, to taste
Flour (for rolling)
1 pound all-butter frozen puff pastry (store-bought), defrosted
1 cup whole-milk ricotta
3 ounces blue cheese, cut into thin slices
⅔ cup fresh or frozen cranberries
Heat oven to 450°F. Have 3 baking sheets on hand.
On one baking sheet, mound the squash in the center. Drizzle with vegetable oil, and sprinkle with rosemary and sage. With your hands, toss to coat the cubes thoroughly. Spread in one layer and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes, or until tender and golden.
Decrease oven temperature to 400°F. Line the other 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
On a lightly floured surface, unfold the dough and discard the inner papers. Dust the top with flour, and roll it gently, just enough to flatten it evenly. Cut it into 2 rectangles that are about 6 inches wide by 15 inches long. Transfer each to a baking sheet.
With a pizza cutter or sharp knife, trim all four edges to make them even. Gently press a fork along each of the long sides of the dough to make a ¼-inch border. Spread half the ricotta down the center of each tart, leaving a ½-inch border. On each tart, distribute half the blue cheese over the ricotta, and top with half the squash.
Transfer to the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
Remove the tarts from the oven and distribute half the cranberries over each. Return to the oven and continue baking for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and the cranberries are soft. Remove and sprinkle with more rosemary and sage. Cut into rectangles or wedges, and serve warm.
I confess, I have a weakness for crackers. Good Scottish oatcakes, a crisp-bread popular in the northern cold, wet climate of that country, are hard to come by unless you make them yourself. These rounds with sweet dried cranberries deliver a lot of flavor. Enjoy with a glass of wine, or with a spoonful of jam and a cup of tea.
Makes 2 dozen oatcakes
1½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup whole-wheat flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons (1¼ sticks) cold, unsalted butter, cut into thin slices
5 tablespoons milk, plus more as needed
½ cup dried cranberries
Flour (for forming the oatcakes)
Heat oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a food processor, pulse the oats, all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and butter until well mixed. Add the milk and pulse until the mixture begins to clump together. If the dough seems dry, add more milk, 1 tablespoon at a time. Add the cranberries and pulse 2 or 3 times to mix them into the dough.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead briefly, and form it into 2 even logs. Cut each log into twelve even pieces. Roll the pieces into balls and place them on the baking sheets, 12 per sheet. With the palm of your hand, flatten the balls. Sprinkle them lightly with flour.
Place about ½ cup flour on a small plate. Using a flat-bottomed glass or dry measuring cup, press hard on the oatcakes to flatten them until they are about 3 inches wide, dipping the glass in the flour as needed to keep it from sticking to the oatcakes.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown on the bottom. Transfer to a rack to cool. Store in an airtight tin for up to 1 week.
While late-season peaches and early fresh cranberries may only appear in the market during a tiny window of time, celebrate them when they do. There are plenty of reasons to make this salsa. If the peaches are ripe and the fresh crop of cranberries hasn’t come in yet, use frozen cranberries. Once peach season has passed, rely on mangoes for that sweet and juicy element. I don’t bother to peel the peaches. The faint bitter edge of the cranberries combined with lush and juicy peaches, lime juice, a feisty pepper, and a good handful of cilantro make this a winning complement to tortilla chips and your favorite grilled chicken. Poblanos are typically fairly mild, with just enough heat to add some pleasant spice to the salsa.
Makes 3 cups
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
¼ cup sugar
Juice of ½ large orange
2 medium peaches, cut into small dice
½ poblano pepper, seeded and cut into small dice
2 tablespoons finely diced red onion
Juice of 2 limes
Salt and pepper, to taste
½ cup packed cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
Tortilla chips (for serving)
In a saucepan over medium heat, bring the cranberries, sugar, and orange juice to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, or until the cranberries soften but have not fallen apart. Transfer to a bowl to allow to cool.
In a strainer set over a bowl, drain the cranberries. Reserve the cranberry syrup for another use, such as cranberry lime rickey (see page 109) or other drinks.
In another bowl, stir together the drained cranberries, peaches, poblano, onion, lime juice, salt, pepper, and cilantro. Chill until ready to serve.
Serve with chips and beer, with roast chicken, or in a taco with just about any leftover you choose.
How to Make Tortilla Chips in the Oven
Consider these instructions as guidelines, using 6 tortillas as an example. Make as many or as few as you like. My apologies in advance. You won’t be able to stop eating them.
Heat oven to 400ºF. Brush 6 corn tortillas lightly with olive oil (you will use about 1 tablespoon for 6 tortillas). Stack them and cut them into 6 wedges. Spread them on a baking sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden. Sprinkle with salt.
Let me introduce you to the best thing since sliced bread: Danish smorrebrod (from the word butter [smor] and bread [brod], and pronounced smuhr-broht). These open-faced sandwiches invite all kinds of improvisations. You can’t beat them as appetizers or party fare. Pickled cranberries add a compelling twist when paired with smoked salmon, crunchy cucumber, radishes, and micro greens. But don’t rule out ham and Dijon mustard, or roast beef and horseradish, or any combination that appeals to you. I buy dense whole meal rye bread made with crushed rye kernels, rye flour, and other grains. Sometimes called “fitness bread,” the brick-shaped loaf comes sliced, available at specialty markets.
Serves 4
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons prepared white horseradish
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
Salt and pepper, to taste
4 slices dense rye bread
6 ounces sliced smoked salmon
Juice of ½ lemon
½ English cucumber, thinly sliced
8 radishes, thinly sliced
4 ounces micro greens
1 cup pickled cranberries (see page 69)
In a small bowl, mash together the butter, horseradish, lemon zest, salt, and pepper.
On a cutting board, spread out the bread and slather each slice with ¼ of the butter. Divide the salmon among the 4 slices, and sprinkle with lemon juice. Top with cucumber slices, radishes, and micro greens. Distribute the cranberries on top. Slice each piece of bread into 4 triangles and serve.
Did You Know?
Health benefits of cranberries include reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, helping slow down tumor progression, and lowering the risk of urinary tract infections.
At the end of summer before there is even a nip in the air, markets fill with mountains of squash and root vegetables that beg to go into soup. Think of this recipe as a guideline, and pick and choose what is available to you. This large batch is suitable for serving a crowd, or for stashing some away in the freezer to pull out on a rainy night. Moroccan spices add a touch of warmth to the colorful little specks of vegetables.
Roast the vegetables until tender but still a little firm. Before pureeing, baste them in the toasted spice and butter mixture, add water, and cook just long enough to bring the flavors together. The soup will be thick when pureed, so add enough water to bring it to a soupy consistency. A spoonful of yogurt adds a cooling element, while cranberries offer a tart and sweet accent.
Serves 10
FOR THE CRANBERRY COULIS
1½ cups fresh or frozen cranberries
¾ cup white wine
⅓ cup sugar
1 bay leaf
2 (⅛-inch thick) slices fresh ginger
Pinch of salt
FOR THE SOUP
Vegetable oil (for the baking sheet)
1 large onion, cut into six wedges
1 pound unpeeled carrots (3–4 large), ends trimmed and cut into 1½-inch lengths
2 stalks celery, cut into 1½-inch pieces
6 small parsnips (12 ounces), ends trimmed and cut into 1½-inch lengths
1 large white turnip (12 ounces), peeled and cut into 1½-inch chunks
½ peeled butternut squash (about 1 pound), cut into 1½-inch chunks
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons ras el hanout
6–8 cups water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons honey
1 cup plain yogurt (for garnish)
In a small saucepan over medium heat, stir together the cranberries, wine, sugar, bay leaf, ginger, and salt. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat, and simmer for 7 minutes, or until the cranberries are soft. Cool to room temperature.
Remove the bay leaf and ginger. In a blender, puree the mixture until smooth.
Heat oven to 450°F. Lightly oil 2 rimmed baking sheets.
On the baking sheets, spread the onion, carrots, celery, parsnips, turnip, and squash. Drizzle with the oil. With your hands, toss together, massaging the oil into the vegetables. Spread in one layer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, or until tender but still slightly firm when pierced with the tip of a paring knife.
In a soup pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the ras el hanout and cook, stirring for 30 seconds to toast the spices. Add the vegetables to the pot and stir to coat them with the spice. Add enough water to cover the vegetables. Over medium heat, bring to a boil. Decrease the heat to a simmer, and continue to cook for 5 minutes. Cool briefly.
In a food processor, working in batches, puree the vegetables and broth until coarse and a little chunky. Transfer to a clean pot. Add the lemon juice and honey. Cook, stirring until the mixture comes to a boil. Thin with more water if the soup is thick. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper, if you like.
Garnish with spoonfuls of yogurt and drizzle with cranberry coulis.