Elevate your holiday table with this vibrant appetizer!
Want to impress your guests this holiday? We have just the recipe for you… Try our Pomegranate-Glazed Vegetable Tart with Whipped Goat Cheese and Quinoa Crust! This dish is so pretty it will rival the turkey as the centerpiece of your Thanksgiving table.
Admittedly this one is not the easiest recipe to make, but we promise it is worth it! With incredible flavor combinations, this is the kind of appetizer that people will stop and stare at.
WOT we love about this recipe: The nutty, toasted quinoa makes for an extra crunchy crust! And you can top the creamy filling with any type of roasted veggies you like. And did we mention how stunning it looks on a holiday table?
Pomegranate-Glazed Vegetable Tart with Whipped Goat Cheese and Quinoa Crust
Ingredients
- ¾ cup uncooked quinoa
- 6 tbsp almond flour
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- ½ tsp Kosher salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large egg, beaten
- Cooking spray
- 3 tbsp pomegranate syrup, such as Just Pomegranate Syrup
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 4 medium shallots (about 6 oz. total), peeled, root ends trimmed, and halved lengthwise
- 2 small heads fennel (about 8 oz. each), stalks removed and fronds reserved, root ends trimmed, and bulbs quartered lengthwise
- 8 oz 1-inch peeled butternut squash cubes (about 2 cups)
- 6 oz small Brussels sprouts, root ends trimmed, and halved (about 1 ½ cups)
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- ¾ tsp Kosher salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 8 oz non-dairy cream cheese, such as Kite Hill, room temperature
- 4 oz log goat cheese, room temperature
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp pomegranate arils
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread quinoa evenly on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, 12-14 minutes; cool about 10 min. (Leave oven on.)
- Meanwhile, make the glaze. In a small saucepan, combine glaze ingredients. Simmer, stirring, over medium-low heat until reduced to about ¼ cup, 3-4 minutes. Glaze will harden as it sits. Warm through over low heat just before drizzling over veggies.
- Place half of the cooled quinoa in a food processor; process 2 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Add remaining toasted quinoa (reserve pan for roasting veggies), almond flour, cornstarch, salt and pepper to bowl; stir to combine. Add oil and egg; stir until mixture is well combined.
- Coat a 9-inch-round removable-bottom tart pan with cooking spray. Press crust mixture into bottom and up sides of prepared pan. Using a fork, prick holes all over the bottom of the crust. Bake at 350°F until deep golden all over, about 25 minutes; cool completely on a wire rack.
- Increase oven temperature to 425°F. In a large bowl, gently toss the vegetables with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread the shallots, fennel and squash into a single layer on the reserved pan. Bake for 12 minutes. Scatter Brussels sprouts onto pan and return to oven until vegetables are tender and golden, 10-12 minutes more. Drizzle warm glaze over vegetables. Return to oven for 2 minutes; toss to coat.
- While vegetables bake, combine filling ingredients in the food processor; process until smooth and fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Spread evenly in bottom of cooled crust. Remove tart from pan; arrange glazed vegetables evenly over filling. Garnish with pomegranate arils and lacey fennel frond tops.
- Place tart pan on baking sheet to move easily in and out of oven
- Make the crust and filling a day ahead. Keep crust in the tart pan at room temperature, lightly covered with foil. Refrigerate filling and let come to room temp before spreading.
- Assemble tart just before serving to keep the crust cracker-crisp.
Enjoy!
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