Halloween Treat: Fiendish Roasted Butternut and Goat Cheese Mummy Tartlets

These tartlets are pretty much my new favorite Halloween food. Crisp puff pastry lovingly envelopes roasted butternut squash, creamy fresh goat cheese, and salty olives in a fun yet oooooohhh-so-ominous tartlet decorated like a mummy’s head. (And I don’t mean “mummy” in the British sense, I mean it in the Egyptian Pharaoh sense. My Scottish husband was a tiny bit confused when I kept calling these “mummy/mommy pies.” Ha!)

These might look hard but they really aren’t! Make the roasted butternut up to 2 days in advance, then just stick it in an airtight container in the fridge until you are ready to use it. Make sure you keep the puff pastry very cold while you are working. If it starts to get too warm when you are rolling it out, just stick it on a baking sheet and put it in the fridge for a bit to cool off.

If you like, double the recipe for a larger gathering, or make smaller mummy heads.

Recipe: Roasted Butternut and Goat Cheese Mummy Tartlets

Makes 9 mummy tartlets

Ingredients:

• 1 small butternut squash (about 1.5 lb), trimmed, peeled, seeds scooped out, and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• Olive oil
• Kosher salt
• 1 (17.3-oz) package frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed (ideally overnight in the refrigerator)
• 1 large egg, beaten with 1 tsp water
• 3 oz fresh goat cheese
• 18 sliced black olives

Directions:

1. 1. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Spread the butternut squash cubes onto a large rimmed baking sheet, then drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Toss to evenly coat, then roast the squash, turning occasionally, until browned and tender, about 25 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and roughly mash the squash with a fork. Let cool completely.

1. 1. Reduce the oven temperature to 400F. Line the (cooled) baking sheet with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one puff pastry sheet into a 13-inch square. Using a 4-inch round biscuit cutter (or a ramekin of the same size and a sharp paring knife), cut out 9 rounds. Transfer the rounds to the baking sheet. (If you have any scraps you can cut them into strips; discard the remaining.)

1. 1. Brush the rounds with the beaten egg. Leaving a 1/2 inch border, divide the mashed butternut evenly over the pastry rounds. Then sprinkle the butternut with goat cheese, dividing it evenly. Place two olive slices on top for eyes.

1. 1. Roll out the remaining puff pastry and cut it into thin strips with pizza cutter. Using the 4-inch cutter, cut out 9 rounds of strips. Brush the pastry strips with the egg. Decorate the tops of the tarts with the strips, egg side down, placing them haphazardly over the filling, and covering the filling entirely, so they look like mummy heads. Press the edges down to adhere to the bottom pastry round. Place the baking sheet in the freezer for about 20 minutes.

1. 1. Bake until the puff pastry is crisp and golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let cool slightly then serve.