Savoury tarts can’t go wrong when it comes to serving a party. Before leaving Vancouver to head home for the holidays, I made this festive tart to share with y’all! I’m officially back in the small town for Christmas, and oh it is so lovely to see our Christmas tree, neighbourhood lights, and stockings by the fireplace. After walking home from a faraway bus stop because my community shuttle runs every hour in the evening, I was greeted by Queen of the house (my dog), and unpacked my backpack to find something really nasty in it.
It was red, flattened, and leaking. I took it out with seriously no clue what it was except it looked like a dead wild animal, like a dead squirrel or something. My first thought was “how did dis get here is this supposed to be a prank dis aint funny because my pjs are wet with whatever liquid is leaking from this thing what do I do did i kill a squirrel in my sleep and put it in my backpack”. After like an hour of thinking, I still couldn’t figure out what that thing was in my backpack so I slept on it (slept while thinking of it, not literally sleeping on it because that would kinda be really nasty).
This morning I woke up and I remember I bought some celery from the store like 3 weeks ago, and wondered why it was missing when I looked into the fridge the next day. Turns out they were stranded in my backpack until now, and look like a dead squirrel mass. So I guess the lesson of the day is to sleep when you’re stuck on something because it’s the human version of “have you tried turning it off and turning it back on” (this didn’t work with Leung’s phone… rip so short-lived it was so young so sorry condolences to you even youtube tutorials couldn’t help). I have my best ideas in the evening when my brain is delirious, but they are also the weirdest (like thinking rotten celery is a dead animal in my bag).
Okay, enough rambling because I’ve got a busy day ahead planning some last minute Christmas festivities. Pesto is one of my favourite things to put on everything, from bread to pasta to tofu to cauliflower… so much yum. This tart may seem daunting, but it only took 10 minutes to make and 20 minutes to bake! Simple, rustic, and oh so flavourful. Easy as pie!
- CRUST
- ½ c. all purpose flour
- ½ c. millet or oat flour
- ½ tsp. oregano, dried
- ½ tsp. rosemary, dried
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- ¼ c. cold water
- PESTO
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 handfuls almonds, toasted
- 1 oz. basil (28 grams)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt & pepper, to taste
- Lemon juice (optional to give it a little tang)
- FILLING
- Sweet potatoes, steamed and mashed
- White button mushrooms, sliced
- Tomatoes, sliced in thin wedges
- Spray a large loaf pan with coconut or olive oil.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- For the pie crust, combine the flour and herbs in a medium-large bowl. Add in the olive oil and water and mix with a fork or your hands to form a dough. Don't knead it too much or the crust may become very tough. Roll out the dough to fit your loaf pan, then transfer dough into your greased pan. Poke holes with a fork to allow ventilation and avoid air bubbles. Bake the crust for 10 minutes. You will put it in the oven again when the toppings are on.
- For the pesto, add in the garlic, almonds, basil and blend. Stir in the olive oil until you reach an oozy consistency. Season to taste.
- To assemble, add in the mashed potatoes on the base of the tart crust, add in a few spoonfuls of pesto, then layer the mushrooms and tomatoes, and another drizzle of pesto. Bake for 10-15 minutes more.
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