White Bean & Tomato Tart

Another take on an eggless, cheeseless quiche using white beans for the filling. You can substitute shop-bought shortcrust pastry if you prefer not to make your own as most brands are suitable for vegans

The trick is to blind bake the pastry case until brown to ensure it remains crispy when the filling first goes in

I like this served with a simple red cabbage salad and a something peppery like watercress

Ingredients

200g plain flour

100g cold dairy free butter - diced

500g-700g jar good quality white beans - drained

2 cloves garlic - peeled

100ml vegan crème fraiche (e.g. Oatly)

Juice of 1 small lemon

2 tablespoons cornflour

1 teaspoon white miso

3 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes

Sea salt

Black pepper

300g small tomatoes

1 tablespoon caster sugar

Olive oil

Method

Heat the oven to 200ᵒC

Start by making the pastry by rubbing together the flour and butter with your fingertips. Once they resemble fine breadcrumbs, bring together into a smooth dough by adding a little cold water, then wrap and leave in fridge to rest for half an hour

Roll out thinly on a lightly floured surface to line a quiche dish, preferably a metal one with a loose base

Cover the base of the pastry with baking parchment, fill with baking beans, and blind bake for 12 minutes. Remove the beans and parchment and return to the over for a further 5-7 minutes until the pastry is starting to brown on the bottom

Put the drained, rinsed beans in the food processor along with the garlic, crème fraiche, lemon juice, cornflour, miso and nutritional yeast, and puree until smooth

Fill the blind baked pastry case with the pureed beans, then top with the tomatoes, halving some of the larger if necessary

Sprinkle over the sugar, season with salt and black pepper, drizzle with a little olive oil, then bake for 45-55 minutes until browned on top, the tomatoes are a little blackened in places, and the filling is firm

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