These Spiced Pumpkin Feta Tarts are a delicious vegetarian dish packed with flavor from harissa, pumpkin, yogurt, and feta cheese. Great appetizer or light meal.
I spotted these delicious Pumpkin and Feta tarts in Delicious magazine a few months ago, when they had a feature on the lovely and talented Alice Hart which coincided with the release of her new cookbook.
The feature in Delicious showcased a number of incredible vegetarian recipes, but it was the Spiced Pumpkin and Feta Tarts that caught my eye.
I’m a huge fan of pumpkin, which explains all of the pumpkin recipes you see on Delicious Everyday. (Like this Pumpkin Risotto or this Pumpkin Soup).
The recipe calls for the use of Harissa, which I couldn’t find at the few local stores I looked in, so I decided to make my own.
I was serving this to friends, who aren’t fans of super hot food, so I decided to substitute some of the chili for roasted red peppers.
This worked out really well as the roasted peppers gave a lovely depth of flavor to the Harissa, so I’ve included the recipe below. But by all means, feel free to use a store bought Harissa paste (like this one).
These little tarts were so delicious I will definitely be making them again.
They were full of flavor, with a little hint of chili, and went perfectly with the salad I chose to pair the tarts with – making them a wonderful light dinner.
Similar Recipes
If you love these pumpkin and feta tarts, here are a few more recipes you might like:
Spiced Pumpkin and Feta Tarts
Ingredients
HARISSA
- 2 large red chili peppers seeds removed and finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 small red bell pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tbsp olive oil
SPICED PUMPKIN TART
- 1 pound pumpkin sliced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp Harissa
- 1 egg beaten
- 2 tbsp natural yogurt
- 2 sheets of frozen puff pastry
- 6 leaves sprigs of Thyme removed from the stalks
- 7 oz Feta cheese
Instructions
- To make the Harissa, preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (390 Fahrenheit) and place the capsicum on a tray lined with baking paper and roast until the skin is black, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and place in a plastic bag, seal and allow to cool. Once cooled you should be able to easily remove the skin. Discard the stalk and seeds.
- Toast the cumin and coriander seeds in a frying pan over a medium heat until fragrant. Set aside to cool. Once cooled add to a food processor fitted with a steel blade and process until a powder forms. Add the remaining ingredients and process until you have a smooth paste. Set aside while you make the tarts.
- To make the tarts, preheat the oven to 200 celsius (390 Fahrenheit). Place the pumpkin slices in a bowl and add the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine and then place in a single layer on a baking tray lined with non stick paper. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until tender.
- Reduce the oven to 190 celsius (375 Fahrenheit).
- Cut the feta in half and cut one half into cubes and crumble the other half.
- Add 1 tablespoon of the Harissa with the yoghurt, crumbled feta and egg and mix to combine.
- Cut the puff pastry sheets into 4 squares and spread each square with the Harissa mixture leaving a border at the edge. Top with slices of roasted pumpkin, and feta cubes before sprinkling with Thyme leaves.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the pastry is golden.
