Mushroom Lentil and Walnut Tart
I love experimenting with food, thinking outside the ‘box’ and creating new things
Mind you, these days it’s pretty difficult to come up with something that nobody else has made before
But I think I have with this new and very delicious creation….
My aim was to make an egg-less ‘quiche’ and not use pastry on the base…
crunchy walnuts and breadcrumbs make a most deeelicious crust
I started with a crunchy crust of breadcrumbs, walnuts and nutritional yeast (for a bit of a cheesy touch)
The lentils add a lovely texture and some extra protein!
And filled it with tofu, lentils, pan-fried mushrooms and fresh thyme
That’s right, I did it….no eggs and it set perfectly
Which means this tart is vegan!
Here’s proof that vegan food can be absolutely deeelicious!
Most importantly, this tart is easy to make
And very, very delicious
mmmm….look at all those tasty mushrooms….:)
You have to give it a go….
- Crust:
- 1 tablespoon ground linseeds
- 3 tablespoons water
- 2 cups of breadcrumbs (95 grams bread)
- ½ cup walnuts
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast - or use Parmesan cheese if not vegan
- Filling:
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 100 grams Swiss brown mushrooms, sliced
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 3 spring onions, sliced (reserve a little of the green part)
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 300 grams silken firm tofu
- 2 tablespoons milk of choice (I used soy milk)
- 2 teaspoons nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- ½ of a 400 gram tin of lentils (2/3 cup), drained and rinsed
- For this tart I used a 34 cm x 11 cm rectangular tart tin with a removable base
- A 20 cm (8 inch) quiche pan should also work well
- Heat oven to 180 degrees C
- Crust:
- Start by mixing the ground linseeds with the water and set aside.
- Place the breadcrumbs, walnuts, olive oil and nutritional yeast in the bowl of a food processor.
- Mix until combined, but be careful not to crush the walnuts up too much. You want them to retain a slightly chunky texture.
- Pour mixture into a bowl and stir through the linseed mix (egg replacer).
- Press evenly into the base of your chosen tart tin
- Filling:
- Heat a fry pan over medium heat.
- When hot, add some olive oil and the mushrooms and saute for a few minutes until they start to brown.
- Add the garlic and spring onions and saute for a further minute, before removing from the stove.
- Place the tofu, milk, nutritional yeast, salt and some pepper in the bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth.
- Tip mixture into a bowl and fold through the lentils and most of the mushrooms, reserving a few for the top of the tart.
- Pour the filling into the crust and sprinkle remaining mushrooms and spring onions over the top.
- Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, until 'set'.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for approx 10 minutes before attempting to remove from tin.
- Serve with veggies or salad
Since perfecting the egg-less quiche, I have had fun varying it by replacing the mushrooms, spring onions and thyme in the following ways…
– Spinach, semi-dried tomato, lentils, fresh basil and pinenuts
– Roasted pumpkin, roasted red onion, lentils and hazelnuts – or feta if not vegan
– Roasted eggplant, roasted zucchini, roasted capsicum, lentils, fresh basil and feta if not vegan
Let me know if you make a different variation….
