Leek & Almond Tart

Vegan

This is a wonderfully creamy tart, delicious served hot or cold with steamed vegetables or a salad. We give you a pastry recipe too - however, it can be made with Jus-Rol shortcrust pastry, which is vegan. Many supermarkets sell an own-brand version which is also suitable, eg Sainsbury, Tesco.

Serves:

8 - 12

Time:

40 minutes if using ready-made pastry, 60-70 if home-made pastry

No sesame

Ingredients:

Pastry
100g/4oz plain flour
100g/4oz self-raising flour
100g/4oz vegetable margarine pinch of salt
75ml/3fl oz cold water (or buy Jus-Rol shortcrust ready-made pastry from most supermarkets)

Filling
3 tbsp sunflower oil
2 large or 3 medium sized leeks, thinly sliced
225g/8oz almond, flaked
100g/4oz almonds, ground
100g/4oz cashews, ground
2 tsp marjoram
1 tsp soy sauce
375ml/13fl oz cold water salt and pepper

See how to chop leeks

Created with flickr slideshow.

Method:

1. If using ready-made pastry, go to Step 5, but check defrosting instructions on the packet if necessary.

To make home-made pastry: sieve both flours into a large bowl . Add the pinch of salt.

2. Place the margarine in to the centre of the flour, coat it in the flour and then break it up in to smaller pieces. Rub the margarine gently in to the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

3. Add the water gradually until you have a moist, but not sticky, dough (add more flour if necessary).

4. Cover and place in the fridge while you make the filling.

5. Preheat the oven to 190ºC /375ºF/Gas Mark 5.

6. Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan, add the leeks, cover and gently cook until they are soft.

7. Add the flaked almonds, soy sauce and marjoram and cook for a further few minutes.

8. Put the water, ground almonds and cashews in to a liquidiser and blend until thick, smooth and creamy.

9. Combine the creamy nut mixture with the leek mixture, add a pinch of salt and pepper and mix gently but thoroughly. (If the mixture is too wet add extra ground nuts.)

10. Remove the pastry from the fridge. Oil a 25cm/10 inch flan dish.

Home-made pastry: roll it out on a lightly loured surface. Make the circle 2-3 inches bigger than the dish then fit it into the dish and up the sides.
Ready-made pastry: do the same as home-made.

Use a knife to trim the edges of the pastry. Cover the entire pastry case with a sheet of greaseproof paper, weigh it down with a handful of dried beans and bake in the oven for 10 minutes.

11. Remove the pastry from the oven, then remove the beans and paper. Spoon the filling into the flan case and return to the oven for 30 minutes. If a browner top is required, place under the grill for a few minutes, watching that the almonds don't burn.

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Comments

Not so hot

Submitted by Anonymous on February 23, 2013 - 10:42pm.

I made this tonight and it was definitely missing something - don't know what I did wrong??

Tasty?

Submitted by Anonymous on April 9, 2013 - 11:56am.

The tart is supposed to be quite mellow and creamy with a delicate taste. However, if you prefer a stronger taste, try adding one or two of these extras:
1 generous pinch of chilli
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
50g grated vegan cheeze
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes