More often than not, dinner is inspired by photographs.

I find a recipe, look at the photos, buy the ingredients, and don’t even read it until I start cooking.

Roasted Squash and Mushroom Tartlets | Things I Made Today

Roasted Squash and Mushroom Tartlets | Things I Made Today

90% of the time, no problem. Every once in a while, oops.

Roasted Squash and Mushroom Tartlets | Things I Made Today

Like these roasted squash and mushroom tartlets I made last night. A nice vegetarian dinner. But in retrospect, had I really read the recipe and thought it through, I would have saved these for a party and made them as an appetizer.

Roasted Squash and Mushroom Tartlets | Things I Made Today

Roasted Squash and Mushroom Tartlets | Things I Made Today

They’re the type of thing you want to nibble on, but when presented with this as the main squeeze, it leaves something to be desired.

Roasted Squash and Mushroom Tartlets | Things I Made Today

Never fear though, we whipped up a 3 minute greek salad and added it to the plate. I’m sharing the recipe with you guys anyways, because I think they’re tasty. But instead of making 6 large tarts, I would cut the vegetables smaller and make a bunch of tiny tartlets (doesn’t that sound cuter?).

Roasted Squash and Mushroom Tartlets | Things I Made Today

Roasted Squash and Mushroom Tartlets | Things I Made Today

I feel like they’d be a party hit. We’ll test that theory out later on.

Roasted Squash and Mushroom Tartlets | Things I Made Today

Roasted Squash and Mushroom Tartlets
Recipe type: Appetizer
Serves: 6-10
 
Ingredients
For the Crust:
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg white
  • ¼ cup cold water
  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
For the Filling:
  • 1 small butternut or acorn squash, sliced into rounds, seeds removed
  • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped into thing strips
  • 2 cups cremini mushrooms, sliced thin
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • 1 egg, beaten
Instructions
To make the crust:
  1. In a large bowl, whisk together egg, egg white, water, and olive oil. Stir in salt, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, and black pepper. Slowly mix in flour, until dough starts to form. Remove from bowl and knead with your hands until dough is uniform, adding a little more water or a little more flour if needed.
  2. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour.
To make the filling:
  1. Preheat oven to 375.
  2. Spread squash, onions, and mushrooms on a baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake for 35 minutes, checking occasionally, until vegetables are nicely roasted. The mushrooms and onions will likely be done before the squash, so you can take those out around 20-25 minutes and put the squash back in.
  3. Let the vegetables cool, then remove the squash from it's skin and mash with a fork.
  4. Combine the vegetables in a medium sized bowl and season with cumin and garam masala. Add salt and pepper to taste.
To assemble:
  1. Roll dough out on a floured surface until about ¼ inch thick. You can do this all in one big piece or cut the dough into chunks and roll it out that way. If making small tartlets (which I recommend), I would roll out one big piece.
  2. Using a knife, cut dough into 3 to 4 inch squares (for tartlets) or 6 to 8 inch squares for entree size. Remove the scraps and roll them out into additional squares.
  3. Scoop a heaping tablespoon (for appetizer size) or ¼ cup (for entree size) of filling into the center of each square. Pick up two opposite ends of dough and pinch together. Then, pinch in the remaining two sides. Wet your fingers if needed, and pinch along the seams until the tartlet is sealed.
  4. Brush each tartlet with egg wash and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
  5. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until tartlets are golden brown.

Recipe adapted from The French Market Cookbook.

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