Food & Wine
Pea, basil and eggplant tart
With a soft and creamy texture, this pea, basil and eggplant tart provides a tasty egg-free, dairy-free alternative to a quiche.
Ingredients:
- 25g raw sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 50ml boiling water
- 50ml cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 25ml olive oil
- 100g tahini, stirred before measuring
- 250g plain white flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- Extra flour for rolling
For filling
- 2 medium eggplants
- 150g raw cashews or blanched almonds
- 150g frozen peas
- 200ml boiling water
- 1 small bunch of basil
- 1 large clove garlic, peeled and chopped
- 1 tablespoon potato, rice or cornflour
- 50ml olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Extra basil and olive oil to finish
Method:
- For the shortcrust, put sugar and salt in a mixing bowl and pour over boiling water.
- Then add the vinegar, cumin, oil and tahini and whisk until smooth.
- Combing flour and baking powder and mix to a smooth, soft dough.
- Cover and let it sit in the fridge for half an hour to make rolling easier.
- Roll out dough on a fluted, 22cm-diametre tart case (ideally one with a removable base). If any of the dough breaks apart, just patch it back together.
- Freeze the tart case for half an hour. This is a good time to start the tart filling.
- To prepare the filling, slit eggplants then bake on a tray at 160˚C for 30 to 40 minutes.
- Peel and dice the eggplant flesh, place in a sieve over a bowl then stir in a teaspoon of salt and leave for half an hour to drain and cool.
- Put the cashews and peas in a bowl, pour on the boiling water and leave for 20 minutes.
- Then place the cashews, peas and soaking water in a blender with the basil (I add the stems as well), garlic and potato flour, and blend until creamy and smooth.
- Beat in the olive oil with salt and pepper to taste.
- Finally stir through the drained eggplant.
- After freezing the tart case for half an hour, bake at 160˚C lining the inside of the case with non-stick paper and baking beans. Remove the paper and beans and bake for 10 additional minutes, until the pastry starts to crisp.
- Spoon the mixture into the tart case, roughly press a handful of basil leaves into the top with a drizzle of olive oil and bake at 160 ˚C for half an hour until just beginning to colour on top.
- Cool slightly before serving.
Written by Dan Lepard. First appeared on Stuff.co.nz.
Related links:
Caramelised onion and cheese tart