Recipe

August 27, 2021

Pesto Vegetable Tart

Recipe: Alexandra Daum

Print This

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 85 minutes

Try this Pesto Vegetable Tart from the new cookbook, Occasionally Eggs.

Striking in appearance but with simple summer ingredients, this vegetable tart is a true centerpiece dish. An easy press-in pastry with buttery almond flour, almond butter pesto and the best hot-weather veg make for a robustly flavored meal. This makes a great picnic dish and tastes just as good at room temperature as it does fresh out of the oven.

Note: Although this is photographed with the vegetables sliced and arranged in spiral form, which is admittedly beautiful, I often make this recipe by chopping the vegetables into haphazard chunks and tossing them into the pastry shell instead. If you’re not looking to impress anyone, take this much simpler route — the taste is almost the same. The prep time reflects the extra time needed for the arrangement, so if you’re not keen on doing the design, it won’t take nearly as long.

Ingredients

Pastry

  • 1 3⁄4 cups (260 g) spelt flour
  • 1⁄2 cup (50 g) almond flour
  • 3⁄4 tsp salt
  • 1⁄4 cup (60 g) solid coconut oil
  • 4-6 tbsp cold water

Almond Butter Pesto

  • 2 cups (60 g) basil
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 tbsp almond butter
  • 1⁄2 tsp salt
  • 3 tbsp olive oil

Vegetable Filling

  • 1 green zucchini
  • 1 yellow zucchini
  • 1 medium eggplant
  • 1 small red onion
  • 2 medium potatoes
  • 2 plum tomatoes

Directions

Yield: Makes 1 tart

  1. Grease a 10-inch (25 cm) tart tin with coconut oil.
  2. To make the pastry, mix the spelt flour, almond flour, and salt in a large bowl. Use your hands or a pastry cutter to rub or cut in the coconut oil to form pea-sized crumbs. Stir in the water 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough holds its form when pressed.
  3. On a well-floured work surface, roll the pastry into a rough circle 1/5 inch (5 mm) thick. Carefully place in the tart tin and gently press into the form. Trim any overhanging pastry and set the tin to the side.
  4. For the pesto, add the basil, garlic, lemon juice, almond butter and salt to a tall container and blend with an immersion blender until finely chopped. Add the oil in a slow stream, blending, until fully combined and the mixture is a paler green. Alternatively, you can use a small blender or food processor. Spoon 1⁄2 cup (125 mL) of the pesto onto the base of the pastry and spread into an even layer.
  5. To make the filling, very thinly slice all of the vegetables into rounds (see note). Use a mandoline if you have one. Place on the pastry in concentric circles, alternating vegetables for varied color.
  6. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until golden brown and the vegetables are slightly crisped. Serve hot or at room temperature. Leftovers can be refrigerated in a sealed container for up to 3 days.
Source:

Excerpted from Occasionally Eggs: Simple Vegetarian Recipes for Every Season by Alexandra Daum. Copyright © 2021 Alexandra Daum. Photography by Alexandra Daum. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.

Tags: Almond Butter Cookbook Recipe Pesto Tart Tarts vegetable Vegetables Vegetarian Vegetarian Recipes

Related Articles

Vegetable Pistou

Grilled Vegetable Tart Recipe

Romaine Caesar Gratin