Make Ahead

Roasted Beet Custard Tart with Caramelized Grapefruit & Crispy Onions

March 10, 2011
4.8
4 Ratings
  • Makes one 9inch tart
Author Notes

This is a throwback to the wonderful roasted beet salads that have swept the nation and quickly became a new classic. Generally, the roasted beet salads appear with a type of goat cheese and orange or grapefruit segments and if you have a roasted beet salad on your menu either myself or my husband is sure to order it – we are passionate about our roasted beets! With the richness of a “custard” made out of the beets, complimented with peppery goat cheese, I opted to use phyllo dough for a lighter crust. And since you only use half a cup of wine there is a little left over for you to enjoy while you are waiting patiently for your tart to finish in the oven... aperitif anyone? A few great notes about this tart 1.) It can be served warm or at room temperature and 2.) Not only full of flavor but lively with color and we can all use a little color in winter, right? —LocalSavour

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • To make beets:
  • 2 large red beets
  • 2-3 small beets (other than red I used candy striped)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup sweet white wine (I used a Muscat Canelli)
  • 1/2 cup goat cheese (I used a black peppercorn goat)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • To make grapefruit, onions & assemble tart
  • 1 large grapefruit
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 medium onion (I used yellow)
  • 1 cup panko bread crumbs
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup milk or buttermilk
  • vegetable oil to cover pan 1/4-1/2 inch
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 8-10 sheets Phyllo dough cut to 11X11 inches
  • 3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup fresh parsley - chopped
  • drizzle of olive oil
  • 1 pinch salt
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wash and peel all beets. Thinly slice beets into about 1/8 inch thick. Keep different colored beets separate so they all don’t turn one color - red. In a large bowl place your red beets and 2 Tbs olive oil and salt. Using your hand gently coat the beets in olive oil. On a large cookie sheet lined with silpat or parchment paper place beets out into one layer. Add remainder of beets into the olive oil bowl that you used for your red beets. With you hands again, gently coat beets with remaining olive oil and salt mixture. Place these beets also on a large cookie sheet lined with silpat or parchment paper – spreading them out not to touch while creating one layer. Place both beet cookie sheets into the oven and roast for 20-30 minutes. Smaller beets will take about 20 minutes and your larger red beets will take about 30. Once beets are tender and soften remove from oven and set aside. In a food processor or blender, place half of your red beets, eggs, cream and white wine. Blend until smooth and creamy and set aside until ready to fill tart.
  2. Preheat broiler (500 degrees). Peel and segment grapefruit – removing any of the white and all seeds. Spread grapefruit out onto cookie sheet and sprinkle each one with brown sugar. Place as closely to the broiler as you can to caramelize the tops. If you have a torch you may use that as well to achieve the same texture.
  3. Peel and thinly slice onion. In a medium saute pan, add enough vegetable oil to crispy the onions in - about 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch. In a medium bowl combine flour and enough milk to create a batter about 1/2 a cup. In a another medium bowl place panko bread crumbs. Heat oil over medium heat. Once oil is hot (but not burning) dip onions into batter and then into panko crumbs and then place evenly in oil. Let onion get crispy on one side and then turn over to the other side to crisp. Once both sides are crispy, remove onions from oil and place on a plate lined with a few paper towel to drain. While still hot sprinkle with salt.
  4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt 3 Tbs of butter and with a brush coat the inside of a 9 inch pie pan. Set remaining butter aside. Place phyllo dough over the pie pan evenly and gently press into the pan. leaving the sides open. Gently pour your red beet custard mixture into the pie shell. Next, layer the custard with the remaining roasted beets. Sprinkle crumbled goat cheese over the top and into the edges. *If you love goat cheese add a little more into the edges.*
  5. Roll phyllo dough edges in to finish your crust form thus creating your tart. Brush exposed edges with remaining melted butter. Place tart into the oven and cook for 40-45 minutes or until top is golden and toothpick comes out clean.
  6. Remove from oven and set side. In a small bowl add chopped parsley, a drizzle of olive oil and pinch of salt – combine together.
  7. Assemble your tart by adding and layering the grapefruit, onions and parsley on top. Serve warm or at room temperature.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Christina Louise Whitworth
    Christina Louise Whitworth
  • Sagegreen
    Sagegreen
  • drbabs
    drbabs
  • aargersi
    aargersi
  • hardlikearmour
    hardlikearmour

6 Reviews

Christina L. May 8, 2021
This was quite a pretty tart. I cooked it in a cast iron pan and the phyllo crisped up nicely, which I wasn’t expecting with the recipe as written. (Nice to know I don’t have to do all the buttered layering one normally does with phyllo!) I used a mix of Golden and red beets for the custard. Maybe my beets just weren’t sweet enough because it tasted like dirt more than beets, so I added some more salt and a little roasted butternut, which wasn’t much help. I then added nutmeg and cinnamon and when all was said and done, my husband liked how it tasted like pumpkin pie. Whoops! The onions and grapefruit were a marvelous addition, and I drizzled it with a balsamic reduction, in keeping with the beet salad concept. All in all I loved the idea.
 
Sagegreen March 11, 2011
How cool!
 
drbabs March 11, 2011
Wow--so creative!
 
aargersi March 11, 2011
This is a beauty! Sounds absolutely delicious!
 
hardlikearmour March 10, 2011
The color is amazing, and I L.O.V.E. roasted beets.
 
nannydeb March 10, 2011
Wow, it's really pretty!