A savoury pumpkin tart on shop-bought puff pastry: ricotta and Parmesan under jammy onions and bacon, with sage running through it.
It reads as a centrepiece and takes an hour, most of which is onions doing their own thing in a pan.
Why This Recipe Works
- The onions get a full 20 to 25 minutes. That is what separates caramelized from merely softened, and it is the flavour the whole tart is built on.
- Ricotta and Parmesan together give body and salt, so the pumpkin reads savoury rather than sweet — which is the trick of a savoury pumpkin dish.
- Cooking the bacon first and reserving a tablespoon of its fat means the onions start in something that already tastes of the tart.
- Docking the centre and scoring the border is what gives you a flat, crisp base with a puffed frame, rather than a dome in the middle.
How the Tart Is Built
Read bottom to top. Every layer here is chosen partly for flavour and partly to keep the pastry underneath it crisp.
The finish, off the heat
Flaky salt, extra sage and cracked pepper after baking, with an optional drizzle of honey or maple. All of it added after the oven, where it keeps its texture and its edge.
Crisp bacon
Cooked separately to crisp and drained, then scattered on last. It goes on top rather than into the filling so it stays crisp through the bake.
Caramelized onions
Two large onions cooked 20 to 25 minutes to jammy. By that point their water has gone, which is why they can sit on pastry without wetting it. Onions cooked for five minutes would not.
Pumpkin and ricotta
Whole-milk ricotta, pumpkin puree, Parmesan and an egg whisked smooth. Thick by design — the egg sets it, and a looser filling would soak into the pastry before the oven could crisp it.
Puff pastry, docked
Rolled to 10×14, with a half-inch border scored and the centre docked all over with a fork. The docking lets steam out of the base so it bakes flat and crisp; the scored border is the only part meant to rise.
Ingredient Notes
- Puff pastry
- One sheet, thawed in the fridge. All-butter pastry puffs higher and tastes better here, where the border is a real part of the dish.
- Whole-milk ricotta
- Full fat, and worth draining briefly if yours is very wet. The filling needs to be thick enough to sit on pastry without soaking in.
- Pumpkin puree
- 100% pumpkin, not pie filling. This is a savoury tart and pie filling would bring sugar and pie spice into a dish built on Parmesan and sage.
- Fresh sage
- A teaspoon chopped in the filling, whole leaves on top after baking. Dried sage works in the filling but has none of the presence of a fresh leaf on the finished tart.
How to Make It
Heat the oven
400°F (200°C), rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment. If you have a baking steel or stone, preheat it on a lower rack for a crisper base.
Crisp the bacon
Diced bacon in a skillet over medium heat, 6 to 8 minutes until crisp. Drain on paper towel and keep a tablespoon of the fat in the pan.
Caramelize the onions
Add the olive oil, sliced onions, butter, a pinch of salt and the sugar. Cook over medium-low, stirring occasionally, 20 to 25 minutes until deeply golden and jammy, deglazing with a splash of water if the pan dries. Cool slightly.
Mix the filling
Whisk the ricotta, pumpkin puree, Parmesan, egg, sage, nutmeg, lemon zest, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes until smooth.
Prepare the pastry
Roll to a 10×14-inch rectangle on a floured surface and move it to the sheet. Score a half-inch border and dock the centre all over with a fork.
Assemble
Spread the filling inside the border, scatter the onions evenly over it, then the bacon.
Bake
Brush the border with egg wash and bake 22 to 26 minutes, until the edges are deeply golden and puffed and the centre is set.
Finish and serve
Cool 5 minutes, then finish with flaky salt, sage leaves and cracked pepper, and a drizzle of honey or maple if you want the sweet-salty version. Slice warm.
Success Tips
- Give the onions the full time. Twenty-five minutes of medium-low is the difference between the tart tasting rich and tasting merely oniony.
- Do not skip the docking. An undocked base puffs up under the filling and pushes it to the edges.
- Let the onions cool slightly before they go on. Hot onions start melting the filling before it reaches the oven.
- Slice it warm rather than hot. Five minutes lets the filling firm enough to cut cleanly.
Serving Ideas
Cut into squares as an appetiser, or into larger pieces with a sharp green salad for a light dinner. The honey drizzle is worth doing if you are serving it with drinks — the sweet-salty edge suits standing food.
Storage and Reheating
Refrigerate
Refrigerate up to 3 days. The pastry softens, so it is better reheated than eaten cold.
Freeze
Freeze baked slices up to 2 months. Reheat from frozen in a hot oven rather than thawing, which makes the pastry damp.
Reheat
10 minutes in a 375°F oven brings the pastry back. The microwave makes it soft and is not worth it here.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can I do ahead?
The onions and the filling both keep for two days refrigerated, which removes most of the work. Assemble and bake on the day — pastry spread with a wet filling and left to sit will not crisp.
Can I leave out the bacon?
Yes. Start the onions in olive oil and butter instead of bacon fat, and add toasted walnuts at the end for the texture the bacon was providing.
Why was my base soggy?
Usually a wet filling or under-cooked onions. Drain very wet ricotta, and make sure the onions are genuinely jammy rather than just soft — most of the moisture in this tart comes from them.
