All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2018
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I keep throwing softballs like this out there to you kids. Softballs in that the recipe is easy & the result delicious. When, oh when, will you trust me & try one?
This one is almost like a quiche but uses no eggs or heavy cream – and it is vegan! I used three colors of heirloom tomatoes but any tomatoes would work, even cherry tomatoes, I suspect.
For the pastry crust
makes two tarts
INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
16 TBS ice cold (even frozen) vegan butter
1/4 cup or more of ice water
Heirloom Tomato Pie with Arugula, Tofu, Cream Cheese & Parmesan
makes two tarts
INGREDIENTS
Pie crust – uncooked
5-6 heirloom (or other) tomatoes – sliced thin
2 cups fresh arugula
2 cloves garlic
1 (14 oz) block firm tofu
4 oz vegan cream cheese
2 slices of your favorite flavor vegan cheese
1/4 cup vegan Parmesan – grated (plus a bit extra for topping – optional)
S&P
Basil – as garnish
DIRECTIONS
For the pastry crust
Put the flour, salt & sugar in a food processor. Pulse to blend. Then, 1 TBS at a time, pulse in the cold butter until it is all incorporated. Add a few TBS water & pulse until little balls of dough begin to form & it falls away from the bowl of the processor.
Remove from the bowl & press into two balls – one a tad larger than the other. Press flat, wrap in plastic wrap & chill for about an hour. Let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes before you roll it out.
DIRECTIONS
for the Heirloom Tomato Pie with Arugula, Tofu, Cream Cheese & Parmesan
Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
Press the dough into a greased pie or tart pan. A traditional pie dish is absolutely OK to use – as is a spring form pan. Slit the crust at the bottom and par-bake it for 7 minutes.
Put the sliced tomatoes on paper towels, salt them & press more paper towels on top. If your tomatoes are very wet & seedy, squeeze some of the seeds out to avoid excess moisture in the pie. You can see that I did this with my red tomatoes.
Meanwhile, blend the tofu, cream cheese, cheese slices, vegan Parmesan, arugula & garlic in a blender or food processor. Season with S&P.
When the crust has baked 7 minutes, top with the cup of grated Parmesan, the tofu mix & the drained tomatoes. Add some S&P. Maybe sprinkle some grated vegan Parmesan on top. Drizzle a bit of olive oil on top.
Bake for 45-60 minutes – or until the ricotta is set. You might need to wrap the edges of your pie with foil (or one of these cool silicone things – the red thing below – that I got at Bed Bath & Beyond) to prevent the crust from over-browning.
When the center seems set, allow this to cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting into it. It can be eaten warm or room temperature.
Garnish with basil & eat it up!