Ingrida Jurkeviciute, The Vegan Chef School
Vibrant and fun, these tarts are a great addition to any Christmas spread or can be served as a starter.
Makes 4 individual tarts.
125g Doves gluten free plain flour
1/2tsp salt
30g baby spinach
30g margarine
4tbsp water
1tbsp sunflower oil
2 shallots or 1 small onion, finely chopped
170g butternut squash, peeled and finely chopped
30g walnuts, finely chopped
1tbsp tamari
1tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2tsp fresh sage, finely chopped
1/2tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
¼-1/2tsp ground nutmeg
100g silken tofu
3tbsp plant milk + a little for a glaze
1tbsp cornflour
1tbsp stock powder
4 cherry tomatoes, halved
Heat your oven to 180c/360f/GM4.
Put the flour and salt in a bowl, mix well. Put the spinach, margarine and water in a jug, blend, with a hand blender, until smooth. Add the spinach mixture to the flour, mix into a dough. If it is too sticky add more flour.
Roll out the dough to 5mm thickness. Cut out 4 circles of dough and 4 trees. Place the circles into the tart tins ensuring the dough goes up the sides. Trim the edges with a sharp knife and prick the bottom with a fork. Bake the tart base for around 10 minutes until they have dried out.
In a large frying pan heat the oil on a medium heat. Once hot, add the shallots and squash, cook for 8-12 minutes until the shallots are translucent. Add the walnuts, tamari, vinegar, sage, rosemary and nutmeg. Take the pan off the heat.
Whisk the tofu, milk, cornflour and stock in a small bowl. Add this to the pan and mix in. Divide this mixture between the tart bases. Top each tart with a tree, brush a little milk onto each tree and the tart edges. Bake for a further 10-15 minutes until cooked through.
Top each tart with half a tomato before serving.
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