Savoury tarts are amongst my favourite meals to make when I am in the quest for something quick.
For the base I took inspiration from Cucina Botanica cookbook. For the filling, I wanted to create something that reminded me of the combination of ricotta cheese with spinach (very common in Italian cuisine) therefore I replaced ricotta with silken tofu.
The full recipe is written below, but don’t forget to take a look at the notes at the end and to watch the recipe video.
INGREDIENTS for the base:
130g plain flour
130g wholemeal spelt flour
½ tsp salt
30g mixed seeds
65g olive oil
110g water
INGREDIENTS for the filling:
250g frozen spinach
2 garlic cloves
½ glass of water
A pinch of salt
300g silken tofu*
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tbsp olive oil + Extra for cooking
INSTRUCTIONS:
Mix together all the dry ingredients. Make a well and pour the liquid ones. Mix with a spoon, then knead with your hands when it gets too thick. Once it looks smooth, cover and let it rest for 30 minutes.
Whilst the pastry is resting, make the filling. In a pan, the garlic cloves, add the spinach and stir. Add ½ glass of water, cover and cook for about 10 minutes. Once ready, remove the garlic clove, add a pinch of salt and stir one more time.
Place the silken tofu in a blender along with the lemon juice, nutritional yeast, 2 tbsp oil. Season with salt and garlic powder and blend it all together until smooth.
Combine the creamy “cheese” with the spinach and stir.
On a floured surface stretch the dough with a rolling pin, about 3-4 mm thick. Place it in a round cake tin and pour the filling, spreading it evenly. Fold the edges and bake at 180°C for 40-45 minutes. Let it cool before serving.
*The Cooking Flea recommends:
If you can't find silken tofu, use normal tofu but add a few tbsp of unsweetened soy milk to make it creamier.
On my YouTube channel I have a very similar recipe made, in fact, with extra firm tofu.
If you cannot find normal tofu either, make and use bechamel cream, pretty much around 250-300g .