The combination of pumpkin and Italian sausage in this dish came to me in a familiar fashion: In the middle of the day, not at lunchtime or dinnertime, no, that would be too convenient! I thought, “Pumpkin! Sausage! Yum!” and decided that I was absolutely too curious about whether the two flavors would work together to wait until the next meal to test it out. There was a brief moment of indecision, of “Pumpkin? Sausage? Together?” but ultimately, I had to taste them together to pass any fair judgement. I mean, pumpkin and sausage! Why not? And so, at 3 o’clock in the afternoon, I baked these little tartlets. 

I also happened to have a pumpkin that’s been sitting in my kitchen for weeks waiting to be carved or cooked, and today I noticed it was looking a little sad and realized that if I waited much longer, it would probably too late for either. I scooped out the seeds to toast later and cut up and peeled as much of the flesh as I could. (Watch out - potentially more fresh pumpkin recipes to come!) It’s really not hard to cook with and gives an especially autumnal flair to any dish. 

I’d been craving pastry crust all morning long, so decided to throw my concoction into a little pâte brisée (I tried to forget about buttery pleasures by going to the gym, but let’s just be frank: Going to the gym increases my desire for whatever I was craving beforehand and I usually eat enough of it afterwards to completely undo any progress I made by working out.)

I love the way these little tarts turned out, and one made a very nice I-forgot-to-eat-lunch mid-afternoon snack, but I’m imagining them as the centerpiece of a seasonal dinner party. I also think it would be oh-so-easy to make a giant one, or even little canapés, to take to holiday parties later in the season. I dusted mine with cinnamon to give it even more of a fall feel and then enjoyed it in the sunshine and some of the last autumn warmth on my back porch. 

Rustic Pumpkin and Sausage Tarts

For pâte brisée: (adapted from Julia Child)

• 1 cup all-purpose flour (I always, always, always use King Arthur flour for pastry dough, which is always much more elastic and workable as a result.)
• 1 stick cold butter
• 1/4 cup very cold water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• pinch sugar

1. Combine all ingredients but the water, working quickly, with your fingertips, breaking the butter into oatmeal-flake sized pieces. Add the water a little at a time and mix quickly with your hands. Press the dough into a ball.

2. Move to a lightly floured surface and, using the heel of your hand, push away from you onto the surface making 6-inch-long smears. Continue, still working quickly (time is truly of the essence since the butter must not melt) until the mixture is uniform. Scrape off the surface and form into a ball. Sprinkle with flour, wrap in parchment paper or wax paper, and refrigerate.

For filling:

• about 1-1/2 cups fresh pumpkin, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 sweet Italian sausages (or about 6 ounches, if you buy the kind without casing)
• 1 very small onion, sliced
• 1 large clove garlic, diced
• 2 tablespoons dry white wine
• salt and pepper
• cinnamon, for dusting

1. Bring a small pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pumpkin and boil until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain, add the butter and whisk into a purée. 

2. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the sausage, squeezing it out of its casing and discarding the casing. Use a wooden spoon to break into smaller pieces. When the meat starts to brown, add the onion, reduce heat to medium-low and sauté until translucent. Add the garlic and sauté an additional couple of minute, taking care not to let it brown. Increase the heat back to medium and add the wine. Stir and add the pumpkin, combinging all ingredients well, and continue stirring for a couple of minutes to allow flavors to blend. Remove from heat. 

3. Remove pâte brisée from refrigerator and divide into four equal parts. Form each section into a ball and roll out into a rough circle on a lightly floured surface. Spoon 1/4 of the pumpkin and sausage filling into the center of each of the four circles and fold in the edges. Transfer tarts to a parchment-paper lined baking sheet and bake for about 25 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. Remove from the oven and dust with ground cinnamon. Makes 4 personal tarts.