Roasted butternut squash, caramelised onion and goat's cheese quinoa tart

Phew! That is a mouthful to say. Fortunately, it is also a mouthful of delicious flavour.

I always consider it a massive win when my 14 year old son says, "This is really tasty," in a surprised voice when sampling a new healthy meal for the first time. I was nervous to make this one as he 'hates' quinoa, squash and onions -- you can see the reason for my reluctance. In fact, it made it onto the weekly menu plan because I forgot the children were on half term when I planned it. Well, it was a huge hit and he went back for seconds. Yay! This just shows that we should continue to challenge our assumptions around healthy foods and keep on offering new foods to our selective eaters. It may not always work out but sometimes it sure does.

I am always looking for ways to get more veg in, especially vitamin A rich veg as I know that vitamin A can be an issue for adolescents and is so important in immune function. Butternut squash fits the vitamin A bill but often gets refused because of its texture. Fortunately, I got it right with this one with enough flavour coming from the caramelised onions and the goat's cheese to sneak that squash in.

I love that the base of this tart is made from quinoa and eggs making it high in protein and other fabulous nutrients as well as ticking the gluten free box for me.

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Roasted butternut squash, caramelised onion and goat's cheese quinoa tart

Ingredients:

600g cubed butternut squash

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tablespoon of coconut oil (melted)

400g thinly sliced red onion (I used 5 onions and sliced them with a mandolin)

15g olive oil

30g balsamic vinegar

500g cooked quinoa (I used left overs)

eggs (I used 3 -- 2 small and 1 large)

50g finely grated parmesan cheese

150g ricotta

150g goat's cheese

3 sprigs of thyme (leaves only)

1 tablespoon balsamic glaze

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 200'C (my oven is fan-assisted so runs a bit hotter than a conventional oven)

2. Toss the cubed squash with the salt, pepper and coconut oil and roast in the oven for 25 mins until browning on the edges and tender.

3. While squash is cooking caramelise the onions. I did mine in the thermomix by adding the sliced onions, the olive oil and 15g of the balsamic vinegar and cooking 20 min/varoma/reverse/speed stir with the measuring cup in place. Then scraping the sides and bottom of the thermomix, adding the other 15g of balsamic vinegar and cooking 10 min/varoma/reverse/speed stir with the simmering basket in place of the measuring cup.

4. While the squash and onion are cooking mix cool quinoa, parmesan and eggs until combined.

5. Line a pizza tray with baking parchment and press the quinoa mixture into an even, round tart base on the parchment.

6. Bake the base for 15 min in the 200'C oven until light golden then remove from oven and set aside to cool.

7. Mix the ricotta with 100g of the goat's cheese and spread around the quinoa base. Cover with the caramelised onions, the roasted squash and the thyme leaves. Then dot on the remaining 50g of goat's cheese.

8. Put the tart back in the oven for an additional 20 minutes until warmed through.

9. Drizzle with balsamic glaze before serving warm or cool.

10. Stand back and give your self a pat on the back while your selective eater devours a second slice telling you how delicious it is. Oh wait, that may just have been me. ;)

Please do let me know if you try it and if you like it. What did you change to make it suit your family's needs? I love a modification to a recipe -- in fact, I rarely stick to what is written.

To wellness!

April